Earthdawn Survival Guide

* 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 secondary lair in the Badlands.

* Helped Prince Neden recover from his suffering under the Death Rebellion.

* According to the Outcast, caring for a small clutch of eggs.

* Adult dragons that also lair in Mountainshadow’s territory, and what that likely says about their relationship.

* Legendary artifact: The Eye of All Wings

* Collects magical lore and mystical secrets, one of the most magically learned beings in Barsaive, if not the world.

* Became Loremaster after the death of Vasdenjas.

* Could be brought into a game as a source of mystic lore.

* Large network of spies and loyal servants across the province.

* Mountainshadow’s drakes, and possible involvement with the theft of the Everliving Flower.

* The Dragons’ Network and Darktooth

* Mountainshadow’s personality: Compulsive need to study things he does not understand.

* Possible weakness in that he might take time to gather information before he acts.

* Opposition to Thera as a campaign hook to involve Mountainshadow as an ally (or antagonist).

* Possible involvement with Iopos and the Denairastas.

* Good option as high-level employer or mentor for “typical” player character groups, especially compared to other dragons.

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* 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 like?

* Expansive scenario to illustrate using different perceptive abilities (Perception/Awareness, Astral Sight, Danger Sense, etc.).

* Email from Jesse: Yes to dragons. Inclination and ability to release Little Treasures?

* Email from Insaniac: Choice paralysis!

* Gamemastering Advice Toolbox

* Plan scenes, not stories.

* Balancing efficiency of prep and player character freedom of action.

* Session Zero and setting expectations.

* Improvisation and recommendation of book “Improv for Gamers” from Evil Hat.

* Knowing your players and what they are likely to do, or how to nudge them (when necessary).

* Provide multiple clues, think of multiple ways an obstacle or problem might be dealt with.

* Opponent motivations and evil.

* Know when to break the rules!

* Interweaving storylines.

* Email from Relative Dimension Joe: Drakes and Namegiver forms?

* Email from Aaron: Yes, more dragon stuff!

* Episodes on Horrors or Thera as opposition?

* Declaration phase of combat? And some Initiative discussion.

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* 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 seeing a resurgence due to the return and growth of Cara Fahd and an exploration and rediscovery of ork temperament and culture.

* Sky Raiders, Cavalryman, Elementalists, and Troubadours are most strongly suited to the path.

* Fire Eater training focuses, channels, and supports the inner fire that is gahad.

* Gahad is something to be embraced and celebrated, turned to positive ends.

* Joining the Fire Eaters involves giving in to your gahad in a dramatic and public way.

* Initiation rites.

* Path roles in character development.

* Path modifications to the Karma Ritual.

* Fire Eater half-magic.

* Summary of the path’s five ranks in its progression.

* Unique Path Talent: Fires of Gahad.

* Fire Eater talent knacks.

* Fires of Gahad talent knacks.

* Reminders: Earthdawn Actual Play from Thornvale

* Foundry Virtual Table Top

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* 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 reflection of setting in the system, and narrative permissions.

* Josh’s rant wanders into reskinning, verisimilitude, and the purpose mechanics serve in the game.

* We talk about dragons some more, this time focusing on dragon powers!

* Armored scales, including a review of changes to armor defeating hits over the editions.

* Dispel Magic: Works like the talent, but also covers creature powers, Horror abilities, and the like.

* Disrupt Fate: The dragon can spend a Karma point to force a target to reroll a test.

* Dominate Beast: Like the talent but allows the dragon to control multiple creatures.

* Dragon Breath: Area effect damage and item destruction.

* Dragon Sight: Astral Sight on steroids.

* Dragon Speech: Communication and spirit interaction ability.

* Fear: Similar to Frighten, penalizes action steps by target.

* Karma Cancel: Dragon can spend their karma points to cancel use of karma by the target.

* Karma Points: Errata on Karma Step and available points.

* Lair Sense: Enhanced Awareness in the dragon’s lair.

* Poison: Some dragons have venomous bites or stings.

* Regeneration: Spend a Recovery test in combat to heal damage or wounds.

* Talents and Skills

* Spellcasting: Requirement for weaving threads and raw magic.

* Suppress Magic: Reduces Steps from magic on the target.

* Wingbeat: Knockdown and knockback effect.

* With their power suite, dragons are significant opponents and taking one out requires lots of planning and luck.

* Link to the Thornvale Podcast: https://www.thornvalepodcast.com/

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* 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 not exclusively so.

* Designed as a “cultural” path with a strong elven influence to examine the conflict between the elven nations.

* Philosophy like the Scout but focuses on forests to the exclusion of other biomes.

* Lots of elf culture wrapped up in the background and origins of the path background.

* In one sense, a story involving a Woodsman revolves around the question of what it means to be an elf.

* Becoming a Woodsman.

* Woodsman Karma Ritual modifications.

* Woodsman Half Magic

* Path Rank progression and bonuses.

* Woodsman talent options.

* Unique talents: Guardian’s Service, Wood Speak, Wood Walk, Forest Sense

* Woodsman talent knacks.

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* 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.

* Dragon lairs and shal-mora.

* Dragon magic, spellcasting, thread magic, spirit magic.

* Dragon views on blood magic.

* Dragon ritual magic, possible reasons why they are cautious with it, and why it is a big deal.

* Types of dragons.

* Common, or western dragons, “Dragons of the Earth”.

* Leviathans, “Dragons of the Water”.

* Cathay dragons, “Dragons of the Wind”.

* Feathered Serpents, “Dragons of Fire”.

* Dragon-like creatures.

* Drakes, servants of the dragons.

* False drakes, servants of Alamaise.

* Hydra, iconic fantasy monster with an Earthdawn twist.

* Do you want us to delve into info on the Great Dragons?

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* 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 extensions of the earth, and to all obsidimen are connected to each other through the earth.

* Present-day purposes include repairing damage to Liferocks, cleanse and lay to rest those obsidimen lost to damage or corruption.

* Also seek to protect and promote the earth itself as obsidimen’s collective ‘mother’.

* Joining the Brotherhood of Stone.

* Ordeals and advancement, using them in the game.

* Requirements for qualifying for the path.

* Path Karma Ritual.

* Path bonuses.

* Overview of Talents available through the Brother of Stone path.

* Some example Brother of Stone Karma knacks.

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* 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 “care” about them as we might think of that.

* Summary of native dragon abilities.

* Very formal society; rituals and ceremonies of all kinds that allow them to exist as a society and minimize direct violent conflict.

* An overview of draconic life cycle. Eggs are held by Great Dragons, hatchlings educated by their guardian.

* Adolescence (and resemblance to wyverns).

* Josh spins some theories and potential hooks related to the similarity.

* Final form relates to guardian dragon type (and a basic overview of the four types).

* Adulthood.

* Sidebar about 90s movie Rising Sun and formalized hierarchies and rituals.

* Dragon death rituals.

* Dragonspeech and memory crystals.

* Questions!

* Updated Dragons sourcebook?

* Sidebar about development goals and how we choose what to develop.

* Supplement about dragons using low Circle adepts as agents?

* Introducing new (great) dragons to Barsaive?

* Do the dragons care about affairs in Iopos?

* More legends involving dragons?

* Adolescent forms of other dragon varieties?

* Dragon type association with elemental wood?

* Which dragons survive the Fourth World?

* Dragonkin other than the Denairastas or Immortal elves?

* Book on Araucania and Feathered Serpents?

* Rather work for a dragon or Theran noble?

* How should adepts interact with a dragon?

* House Henghyoke’s connection with dragons?

* Is Cara Fahd the most dragon-influenced nation?

* How many immortal dragon kin in Barsaive?

* Dragon appearance changing (scale color, etc)?

* Armor or weapons made of dragon parts?

* Is dragonfire magic or biology?

* Other known Great Dragons descended from All Wings?

* Barsaive’s significance in relation to the Age of Dragons?

* Was All Wings a previous Lorekeeper?

* Remains of All Wings and their significance or role in the Fourth World?

* Death of All Wings connected to the Passions?

* Dragonkin and their role in ancient Earthdawn history and why can they exist when there aren’t other “half-races”?

* Dragonkin displaying draconic traits?

* Reasons behind dragon ritual cremation on death?

* Returning to wyverns.

* Favorite movie with dragons in it?

Find and Follow:

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* 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 incorporates some of the lessons learned from the other magician Disciplines.

* Pack and Spirit keywords.

* Shaman spell list in ED4 is unique to the Discipline, not cobbled from other spell lists as in previous editions.

* Discussion of First Circle Shaman spells.

* Mixture of original spells and spells imported from other magician lists from previous editions.

* Priority list for Circle 1 spells.

* Discussion of Second Circle Shaman spells.

* Comment on binding spells and their negative consequences when ended.

* Priority list for Circle 2 spells.

* Link to Morgan’s presentation on the upcoming magic book, Deeper Secrets: https://youtu.be/XnLxO9ITXbw

* Check out the Aetherstream: Interceptor Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fasagames/interceptor-0

Find and Follow:

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Dan took a well earned vacation, so we don't have a regular episode this week.

Josh was hoping to have a special episode with one of the creative leads for Aetherstream: Interceptor, but the scheduling didn't work out.

In the meantime, check out the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fasagames/interceptor-0

See you next week!

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @EDSGPodcast

Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant

Dan on Twitter: @boice_voice

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