Earthdawn Survival Guide

* Welcome to 2025!

* Production schedule for the next few weeks.

* FreedoniaCon: February 21-23

* Kickstarter fulfillment

* Earthdawn Shards: Betrayal's Sting

* Journeyman tier adventure

* Less structured, more free-form design.

* Part 1: Something That Might Interest You

* Primary goal is to motivate characters to travel.

* Easily adapted to other campaign circumstances.

* Part 2: Who Are You? What Do You Want?

* Meeting traveling merchant.

* True "hook" for the adventure.

* Investigation into what's going on.

* Appreciation for the chapter's Troubleshooting section.

* Part 3: The Madman's Diary

* Finding and fighting the Enrager; a Horror construct.

* Locations provided; ways to track it down.

* Different paths to find the answer.

* Unrelated adventure hooks; small sandbox area.

* Following up on the adventure.

* Closing thoughts.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Tribes of Cara Fahd: The Thunderers

* Astrologically-inclined tribe.

* Emerged from their kaer during a storm.

* Adapted and changed from raiding to trade and mercenary service.

* More spiritual bent; influence from their shared experience.

* Are not family-exclusive. Open to other orks joining them.

* Significant portion of their tribe are cavalry.

* Overview of Thunderer training.

* Forces organized around "cerri" -- small, tight-knit groups.

* Adept cerri frequently swear oaths and form group patterns.

* Elite forces, but not egotistical about it. Much respect from other tribes.

* Very organized, routine-oriented tribe.

* Feelings of obsidiman or troll spirituality to the Thunderers.

* "Strong, silent types."

* Questors are rare; they honor them all (thirteen) in turn.

* Association with Cara Fahd

* Waited for sign to join Krathis Gron... and got it.

* Have adapted again, settling in to Cara Fahd as their home.

* Current chief is Krathis Gron's primary military advisor.

* True believers, but not as dramatic about it.

* Speculation on the Thunderers' role in the Second Theran War.

* Rebuilding the ruins of an old Cara Fahd city - New Revalk

* Influential members of the Thunderers.

* Clever twist/deconstruction on the stereotypical ork tribe.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Ending the year with an email episode!

* Whoops! This should have gone out last week. Sorry.

* Email from Patrick: Reach out to him about the Earthdawn Foundry modules!

* Question about the orichalcum "orbs" (aka "loci")

* Email from Tim: Moving more than standard movement rate?

* Discussion of a couple possible interpretations of the question.

* Movement cap on Great Leap?

* Multiple "things" as a single thread item.

* Discussing the Blades of Cara Fahd, Lightning Bolt Earrings.

* Group patterns are weird!

* Email from Jay: Story about finding Earthdawn, introducing new players!

* Tale from the table about The Search for Wisdom/Runvir's Tomb

* Durability from multiple Disciplines. (Highest applies)

* Karma pool for multi-Discipline characters. (Highest Circle counts)

* Harvesting parts from creatures? Applicable skills and rolls?

* Timing of combat options? How do they fit into the combat round?

* Is initiative an "Action test"?

* Do group threads count toward the maximum thread limit?

* Being a member of multiple group true patterns?

* Talent rank increases from thread items and how they affect duration, etc.

* Resources for faster answers to your rules questions!

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Tribes of Cara Fahd: Asok's Armbreakers

* New tribe founded alongside Cara Fahd.

* Broke off from Herok's Lancers.

* Tale is five "songs" composed by the founder, Asok.

* Herok denied Krathis Gron's claim and declined following her.

* Herok killed a family that was leaving to follow her.

* Asok's gahad triggered, challenged the chief.

* Stirring speech in front of the tribe.

* Invoked the Passions and used his Troubadour magic.

* Approximately one third of the Lancers followed Asok.

* Followers mostly women, children, and civilians; only a few hundred fighters.

* Settle in Claw Ridge and call it home. Declines tribal lands.

* Devoted to Krathis, act as militia for Claw Ridge.

* Tribe of "true believers" in comparison to Metal Fist and Broken Fang.

* Herok has sworn vengeance on Asok and Cara Fahd. Potential threat.

* Potential source of inside intel about Claw Ridge and the nation's situation.

* Great presentation; written as a bit of epic poetry.

* More nuance to the varied cultures making up the new nation.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Earthdawn Shards: The Flames of Avarice

* Books and stuff are at our distributor and should be on their way soon.

* Josh has run this adventure; vague memories.

* Novice-tier, features a magician's retreat near the Scarlet Sea.

* Might be difficult to relocate, unless you're willing to hand-wave.

* Some adventure background.

* Tears of the Dead - orks exiled from Cara Fahd.

* Attack on an inn/waystation, PCs come upon the aftermath.

* Raiders will be returning; defend the location.

* Fight should not be difficult.

* Map to the raiders' base, track them back to deal with them.

* Motivating the group to follow the orks.

* Encounters on the way.

* Dealing with the orks; not much guidance in the text.

* Opening and exploring the magician's retreat.

* Thread item treasure at the end; Staff of Avanthus

* Backstory to the retreat; setup for campaign antagonist.

* Dichotomy between the scale of the adventure and the campaign seeds.

* Extra stuff feels strange; too much garnish/fluff/glitter.

* Josh's opinion of the adventure shifts as time goes on.

* Discussion of the Staff of Avanthus

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Tribes of Cara Fahd: Broken Fang

* Josh repeats praise for world building.

* Broken Fang: Claims to have never lost a battle.

* Founding of the tribe.

* Claims Krathis is descended from Hrak Gron and their forbear.

* Details of tale insight into people; not really "history".

* Oral tradition and the lineage of cultural belief.

* More claims the clan makes to tie themselves to Cara Fahd.

* Limits of our modern perspective and authenticity of in-setting point of view.

* Fourteen clans; nine heroic, five of the Passions.

* Back to the Metal Fist and connections to the Passions.

* Discussion of Broken Fang clan divisions and culture.

* Overview of Passion Clans.

* More tribal traditions and practices.

* Multiple tribal claims to the "true way" of orks.

* Leaders and prominent personalities.

* Discussion about the differences and similarities between the Metal Fist and Broken Fang.

* Cara Fahd is a nation... that isn't quite there yet.

* What if something happens to Krathis Gron?

* Old ways versus new.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* Earthdawn Shards: Tournament Troubles

* Josh and Dan are on Bluesky!

* Josh talks about prep levels in play.

* This adventure can be enhanced with material from the Travar sourcebook.

* Journeyman-tier adepts; some prep and experience is required.

* Quick overview of the Founding Tournament

* Early adventure plotline involves activity around the tournament.

* Politics and intrigue between different candidates.

* Culmination of the adventure is the tournament itself; players may compete.

* Some media inspirations; espionage/heist/maguffin tales.

* Healthy amount of role playing and investigation; not much action until the end.

* Heist against the Body of Five.

* Outside interests.

* Climax: The Tournament.

* Overview of challenges provided in the adventure.

* Keeping pacing up by limiting die rolling.

* Rival adept groups past and future.

* Decent amount of room for customization.

* Good capstone to a campaign arc, or starting a new one.

* Make sure the player characters are down for this type of political adventure.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* You can catch Josh on the Novel Games podcast!

* Tribes of Cara Fahd: Metal Fist

* Largest tribe in Cara Fahd; led by Bronze Eyes

* Differences (or lack of) between first and third edition versions

* Origin legend of the Metal Fist

* Djoto; the Metal Fist way of life

* Another example of cultural tradition and self-justification

* In-text call outs from chieftan's daughter.

* Summary of the ten points of Djoto

* More musing about culture and how authentic it feels

* Population and family traditions of the Metal Fist clans

* Cultural relics; the clan chiefs each have a metal gauntlet thread item

* Upbringing and training of the clan's youth

* More commentary from Tresseg about some drawbacks of clan traditions

* Bronze Eyes; Metal Fist chieftan

* Tresseg, Trajak of the Broken Fangs, and their daughter -- heir to both tribes

* Rivalry between the tribes, and lack of monolithic culture

* Lots of seeds for story hooks or future developments

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

* We're back from hiatus!

* Quick bit of catching-up.

* Returning to the mailbag.

* Email from Michael: Deliberately increasing a spirit's Strength Rating?

* Shield Bash (talent) and Shield Drive (knack)

* Air Speaking praise!

* Intimidating Bellow (Knack) versus Battle Bellow (talent)

* Email from Walter: Tales from the Table about "Kept in the Dark"

* Email from Mark: Returning to Earthdawn!

* Contacting residents of sealed kaers from outside.

* Email from Simon: Support for virtual table tops (especially Foundry)?

* More email from Michael: Interaction of Forge Weapon and thread item damage bonuses.

* Versatile spellcasting with a "loaned" spell matrix item.

* Forge Weapon and "personal" adjustment; why forged weapons aren't effectively overrunning the setting.

* Josh talks about the GM as ultimate adjudicator of when/what kind of rolls are called for and what is possible.

Find and Follow:

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast

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

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

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

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

Josh has wrapped production on the local theater project he was involved with, but the Survival Guide will still be on hiatus for a couple of weeks until a new episode is recorded and released.

In the meantime, here's the "Introductions" episode for an actual play podcast project Josh is involved with. "Novel Games" is created and produced by Susan Quintana, looking to release short campaigns dedicated to various independent TTRPGs.

The first game is Apocalypse Keys, and the first story arc has been released in full. The show is still making its way out to the various platforms, but you can visit I'm such a dummy. There's the show link. https://shows.acast.com/novel-games to listen or download episodes directly.