Quick little update. Have our next session tentatively set for our five-year anniversary this September. Our Obsidian Portal revamp is coming along nicely too:
We have also decided that, in celebration of our five-year anniversary, to switch systems to 5E! We really like what we've been seeing with the new edition, and so will convert to D&D starting next session. We're really excited!
Haha, thanks Fireberd! We've got two new players, so now we're set! We just finished our 20th session and FINALLY finished the Tomb of Horrors (side adventure)!
Next session is this Sunday, and the group is finally onto Chapter Five.
Our two new players are a playing a human rogue/assassin, and a human wizard. Looking forward to having them in the group! And next session will see the return of Krag, the human fighter! So the group is back up to full strength of 5 players.
And after Chapter Five is complete, we will be creating a new PDF compilation and retire the above linked as "Volume I." Getting up there in page count. ;)
Oh, and we're also starting a side campaign of Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, and some people are welcome to join that, too. We're connecting it to one of the b stories of the Shackled City campaign. This will be a weeknight thing, though (occasional... not likely every week... though possible some stretches at a time will be every week).
Well, it's been 2 years and 2 months since our last session, but we're finally gearing up for the 19th session of our Shackled City campaign via MapTools. Compiled and cleaned up PDF of our first 18 sessions are here for those who might be interested.
Been a busy couple of years. Not that things have settled down any (quite the opposite, in fact), but my friends and I have decided to get this campaign up and running again, right where we left off last time.
Lost three of our players though -- they can't rejoin any time soon -- so we're back down to our first two (Dallen & Drace).
We may have a third joining us later, but in the meantime we have two open slots, if anyone's interested (if so, feel free to shoot me a PM; we've got a fighter and a swashbuckler/sorcerer, and the third player who'll likely join later is a rogue/assassin. If you join, you'll be asked to make a character at the top of 9th level. Players not too familiar with Shackled City preferred. Usual playing times are typically either Sat or Sun mornings, anywhere from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. start to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. Pacific Time. Average sessions, when we're actually playing, is once to twice a month).
Well, it's been 2 years and 2 months since our last session, but we're finally gearing up for Session 19! Compiled and cleaned up PDF of our first 18 sessions are here for those who might be interested.
Been a busy couple of years. Not that things have settled down any (quite the opposite, in fact), but my friends and I have decided to get this campaign up and running again, right where we left off last time.
Lost three of our players though -- they can't rejoin any time soon -- so we're back down to our first two (Dallen & Drace). We may have a third joining us later, but in the meantime we have two open slots, if anyone's interested (if so, feel free to shoot me a PM; we've got a fighter and a swashbuckler/sorcerer, and the third player who'll likely join later is a rogue/assassin. If you join, you'll be asked to make a character at the top of 9th level. Players not too familiar with Shackled City preferred. Usual playing times are typically either Sat or Sun mornings, anywhere from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. start to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. Pacific Time. Average sessions, when we're actually playing, is once to twice a month).
The dorn-dergar always struck me as a cool weapon. It's a nice change of pace from the normal axes and hammers (double-ball and chain FTW). But I've always wondered how exactly it's wielded.
As a melee weapon it's as simple as "punching" the enemy with one of the steal balls. As a reach weapon, it's just a fancy ball and chain, launch one ball at the enemy. But if you had the "Dorn-Dergar Master" feat, you can wield it one-handed. I'm guessing it would probably look something like the orc boss from "King of Dragons" (Go to 1:11 and watch the boss battle to see what I mean):
Hi. Sorry for digging up an old thread but I'm super confused on something in this book. Damage! I get that there was an error in calculating unit power, and i've taken that into account.
So if I understand damage, you look at what the average damage die is for an attack, so a group of 5th level humans with longswords deal 1d8+2 normal (non-mass combat) damage. And according to the table, average damage for a d8 is 4.5 (rounded down is 4, +2 so total of 6). Then looking at the average damage bonus, I see that damage between 4-9 is +1. So when my army unit deals damage and it's unit power is 10, it deals 10 +1 (11) damage. That's it? Nothing else is calculated in that? That means that if these 5th level fighters (5 HD) went up against a unit of 100 trolls (6 HD, so Unit Strength of 600), it would take an average of 60 ROUNDS to kill off these trolls!!!?!?! Because you're only doing at most 11 damage a round. And that's if they hit them every round! Did I miss something with that? Do you add weapon damage to that in any way? I can't find where it says that, in fact the only thing I can find where it says how to calculate damage is that it's unit power plus average damage bonus. Please help. Thanks.
Hi! Sorry it took so long to see this and reply! But in short -- YES. As stated in the book, war by attrition takes a LONG time. Medieval/classical battles, if no side gained an advantage, went on for HOURS. I mean HOURS.
The entire focus is to force players to think like real generals. War by attrition is not how mass combat was won. It was won my outmaneuvering your opponent on the field. Out-thinking him (or her).
If there is 1 unit vs. 1 unit, then the odds are that it will take quite a long time to get through that battle. But if you get some flanking going on, force some Morale Checks, then once one side routes, it's slaughter! :)
Hey Hank, glad to see this moving forward! As you know, I've been "sidetracked" with our newest addition to the family, but if you're interested in some Hero Lab portfolios/data sets (Pathfinder and SW at present) for these let me know! I'm actually playing around with Hero Lab now to learn the details for creating a system (using Cubicle 7's The One Ring as my base) so I might even be able to create a full N.R.G. data set for you at some point.
Hello! Game Smiths LLC would like to invite you to check out their new tabletop RPG system, N.R.G. (non-restricted roleplaying game) at www.gamesmithsllc.com.
Free downloads of their Light Beta Rules, a free N.R.G. System Adventure, and a short document giving an example combat round in the game are all available on their site as well, here.
A podcast interview talking about this game--along with their first supported campaign setting The Saga of Dragon Star (to be available in N.R.G., Pathfinder, and Savage Worlds)--on LordKat Live! Television can be found here: LordKat Live!
And if you haven't had a chance yet, check out the free downloads of the Light Beta rules for the N.R.G. System (cover by Wayne Reynolds!), the free adventure The Depths of Greed, and an example of N.R.G. System combat at www.gamesmithsllc.comhere!
Come check out the new Pathfinder Campaign Setting at www.gamesmithsllc.com! And read about how you might be able to get 9 metal 28mm minis designed by Wayne Reynolds, here:
Game Smiths Forums
Howdy partner! Come and join The Saga of Dragon StarTM, an epic fantasy western set in the dying world of Avanti, a troubled land under the oppression of the mighty Keln Dominion. As the immense, dark empire swallows realm after realm, refugees flee to the Frontier Lands, a vast, desolate territory of endless desert and prospect towns, free for the time being from the Dominion in the far north. In this wild expanse, the only law is the Dragon Stars, elite frontier sheriffs appointed by the Ember Council.
Countless inhabitants attempt to eke out a living in this unforgiving stretch of land, and disparate races are forced to live and work side by side. Play an elf Dragon Rustler and explore the Sea of Silt—an ocean of shifting sands, enormous sand ships, and obelisk cities; a gunslingin’ orc Drifter exiled to the Shattered Lands; or a dwarf Gambler, moving from town to town and saloon to saloon, leaving a string of empty pockets and fuming enemies.
But never forget the threat from the North; as the Keln Dominion chops down the world’s forests to feed the gnashing teeth of their factories of industry, the magic of the world weakens, as do the ancient binding spells of the forgotten Aluvian Empire, allowing demons to sneak back into the world. Will you attempt to stake your claim in the Frontier Lands and pursue your own petty desires, or will you join the brave few who have banded together to face this threat and explore the ruins of the Aluvian Empire to find a way to stop the Keln menace and cast the demons back to the dark places of the world?
If your nerves are steel and your steel is quick, then saddle up and join The Saga of Dragon StarTM!
That makes a lot more sense. Might I suggest errata for page 15 to clarify that?
Also for errata: the last paragraph on that page says that movement is part of phase 2, and then later that the melee attack is phase 3. These are actually phases 3 and 4 respectively.
Calculating unit Power should be the Strength divided by the Mass Rating, rounded up.
So between turns if a unit took any damage, you should check to see if it affected their unit power.
If a unit of 50 trolls takes 1 damage to its strength, reducing it to 299, then you would divide 299 by its Mass Rating of 60. After rounding up, their Power would still be 5.
To determine the individual count, you divide the Strength by the Hit Die, and round up.
So 299 by 6 shows there are still 50 fighting trolls left in the unit.
I can't tell - does the general roll for each units' initative, or for the entire army at once? The latter seems that it just becomes "I go, he goes" under most circumstances.
Unless there's some reason to divide alied units up into several armies.
It is I go he goes but since damage calculations are factored between rounds in effect everyone actually performs phases at the exact same time.
"The contents of this book have been transcribed from the speaking of Vasdenjas, a most noble and intelligent dragon. I have written down his words almost without alteration, as I found his rambling style of speaking most entertaining."
—Tiabdjin the Knower, Scribe and Scholar of the Great Libray of Throal
The Horrors are not the only threat to those who travel across Barsaive. The wild creatures of the land, some twisted by the Scourge into living nightmares, pose many dangers to the adventurer unlucky enough to cross their path. The beautiful death moth, with its fatal sting... the fierce pangolus, whose claws can disembowel a troll with a single stroke... the hell hound, whose magical fire burns everything it touches... all these creatures and more may be the death of the unwary adventurer unless he can defeat them in the pursuit of his quest.
Creatures of Barsaive describes fifty of the most fearsome and fascinating creatures in the province of Barsaive, bringing them to life with a wealth of detail and beautiful illustrations. Told from the point of view of a great dragon, Creatures of Barsaive also offers some insight into that mysterious and powerful species.
Creatures of Barsaive™
Pathfinder RPG Edition Sourcebook
Published by FASA Games, Inc.
Format: 96 pages, 6.14" x 9.21", B+W Interior
Before science, before history, there was an Age of Legend... For years humanity huddled in underground kaers, as the astral beings known as the Horrors ravaged the land in an orgy of terror and destruction. Now the long, dark age of the Scourge has passed, and the brave adventurers emerge to reclaim their world.
Elf, ork, t'skrang, human, and other wondrous races explore a world that teems with strange creatures and unseen dangers; a world of lost cities, or ancient, long-forgotten treasures and idescribable wonders; a world where the very earth and sky vibrate with powerful arcane energies.
The Earthdawn® Player's Guide contains what every Pathfinder Roleplaying Game player needs to create one of these brave heroes and help rekindle the glory of days past, including new races, equipment, skills, spells, feats, and rules for being an Adept. Join the adventure and begin roleplaying in Earthdawn, the Age of Legend!
...When the Wizards proclaimed that the Scourge had ended, Jaro, I, and three others broke open the seals on the doors and walked outside. We hoped to find a new world brimming with life. Instead, a barren landscape stretched before us. As quick as thought, the sky grew dark with creatures, their attack nearly overwhelming us. We fought our way back to the kaer, thinking ourselves safe. We soon learned that a Horror had entered the mind of Jaro...
Explore the province of Barsaive, a land that encompasses the high mountain realms of savage troll raiders, lush green jungles that conceal long-forgotten cities, vast plains filled with strange and deadly beasts, and the life-giving waters of the mighty Serpent River. An untamed land still recovering from the depredations of the Scourge, Barsaive now teems with orks and elves, t'skrang lizard-men and human settlers, all drawn by the promise of her breathtaking wonders.
The Earthdawn® Game Master's Guide contains a detailed tour of this troubled province; stats for dozens of new monsters that stalk her lands, including several loathsome Horrors; descriptions of over 30 common and Legendary threaded magical items; rules for the vile practice of Blood Magic; and the esoteric mysteries of ancient legends and nefarious secret societies to populate your campaign!
The eight Namegiving races of Barsaive form the heart and soul of the land. They share many experiences and beliefs, but have their own cultures and traditions. Each race is unique and together they breathe life into the land of Barsaive. Denizens of Barsaive Volume One provides an indepth look at four of the Namegiving races of Barsaive:
Elves: Beings of feeling and spirituality, they seek to restore their culture's former glory.
Humans: Versatile enough to learn the unique abilities of every race, they adapt quickly to most any situation.
T'skrang: Flamboyant, reptilian beings with a bravado that reflects their zest for life.
Windlings: Small, winged beings whose passion for change makes them mischievous and unpredictable (and annoying to some).
Denizens of Barsaive Volume One describes the elves, humans, t'skrang, and windlings in detail, and provides race-specific Disciplines, new Adept Skills, unique equipment, and special rules for playing each race. This fascinating and invaluable reference is for Earthdawn Pathfinder RPG Edition players and Game Masters alike.
The eight Namegiving races of Barsaive form the heart and soul of the land. They share many experiences and beliefs, but have their own cultures and traditions. Each race is unique and together they breathe life into the land of Barsaive. Denizens of Barsaive Volume Two provides an indepth look at four of the Namegiving races of Barsaive:
Dwarfs: Stout and stubborn, the industrious dwarfs are the cultural and political leaders of Barsaive.
Obsidimen: Ancient beings of living rock, these stone giants are perhaps the oldest and most mysterious denizens of Barsaive.
Orks: Passionate and savage, their love for life is surpassed only by their love for battle!
Trolls: Bestial in appearance, these gargantuan mountain dwellers are both fierce and honorable.
Denizens of Barsaive Volume Two describes the dwarfs, obsidimen, orks, and trolls in detail, and provides race-specific Disciplines, new Adept Skills, unique equipment, and special rules for playing each race. This fascinating and invaluable reference is for Earthdawn Pathfinder RPG Edition players and Game Masters alike.
Parlainth: The Forgotten City Sourcebook
The ruins of Parlainth beckon the bold explorer, promising profit and peril. For centuries, this fabled Theran city lay hidden in astral space, all knowledge of it erased by a powerful spell until a thief and his apprentice found the lost magic that would bring Parlainth home. Now this ancient seat of Theran power has returned to the land of Barsaive, its people slain and its buildings and streets ravaged by Horrors. Vast sections of it remain unexplored, concealing glittering treasures and objects of unknown power behind crumbling walls and in dank catacombs. Only the boldest adventurers dare explore mysterious Parlainth, risking its dangers in search of wealth. Only those with the courage to challenge the fearsome Horrors lurking in its ruins can claim the name of hero.
This campaign setting is perfect even for your ongoing campaign, as its unique history logically explain how the ancient city could suddenly appear back in your realm! This is also the setting of our upcoming Adventure Campaign--a six-part series of adventures that will take players from 1st to 15th level!
Parlainth Adventure Campaign Outline:
PARLAINTH ADVENTURE CAMPAIGN OUTLINE
Relics of the Forgotten City
The PCs’ search for a missing statue leads to an essential truth of Parlainth: What is lost can always be found—at a cost...
Every adventurer knows the ruined city of Parlainth is a dangerous place, but the neighboring town of Haven has dangers of its own when the PCs get involved in the search for a missing statue, sought by everyone from the dragon Charcoalgrin to Throalic agents and Theran diplomats. But only one faction can end up with the statue, and only the PCs can find who has it now. The hunt leads the PCs to into a ruined city beyond the ruined city, an ancient network of tunnels and crumbling buildings outside Parlainth—and the Theran operation that now calls those ruins home.
In Treachery's Shadow
Appearances can be all too deceiving in the ruins of Parlainth, where a battle to save the innocent turns the PCs from heroes to hunted.
Just a stone's throw away from the walls of Haven is the broke-down warren of the Smalls, where bandits, monsters, madmen, and exiles fight for territory. Here, Gynna Thorsef, the ex-Throalite, and her band of outcasts have carved out Gatetown, a bustling black market and haven beyond Haven. Watched by Charcoalgrin and her Unforgivables, Gatetown has also become a target for Throalites and Therans hoping to tap its flow of goods and information. But in the streets of the Smalls, few things are as they seem, and the PCs' simple mission to Gatetown turns to war in the streets as a mysterious Warlord lays siege to the area. Now Gynna recruits the PCs for a new mission: Protect Gatetown from destruction! Holding off the Warlord’s forces is one thing, but there may be no way out once the warlord's real target is revealed to be the PCs themselves.
The Vault of the Dreaming Dead
To uncover one of the keys to Parlainth’s disappearance, the PCs must learn the secrets of the nameless dead in the haunted spirals of the Twists.
Who are the Atl Arvoi? Haven's adventurers are flocking to the Twists in search of this mysterious sect, rumored to command beasts from before the Scourge and guard a trove of arcane artifacts. As a rogue group of Theran agents resolves to protect the sect from outsiders, Throal seeks agents to uncover the Atl Arvoi's secrets and treasures. But for the dragon Charcoalgrin, the real treasure is information on the sect's connection to her lost love. As the PCs plunge into the Twists at the behest of the Throalites, Therans, or Charcoalgrin herself, it becomes clear that the sect will find them and not the other way around. The Atl Arvoi themselves are long dead, but their legacy is a generation of Nameless spirits intent on seizing new bodies and new lives...
Dwellers of Ruin
When a terrible Wizard begins kidnapping innocents to join the ranks of his aberrant army, it’s up to the PCs to uncover and stop the sinister secret.
The Wizard Kamilar has had one goal: to transform Parlainth from a broken city to a lively Theran capital. But despite his best efforts, all that thrives in Parlainth are monsters and Horrors. There’s only way to restore Parlainth to a place where Name-givers can live—turn the Name-givers themselves into monsters as twisted as the ruins! Now Unforgivables are vanishing from the Vaults and adventurers are going missing. Can the PCs stop Kamilar before the final phase of his plan opens up a gateway to new Horrors?
The Nexus Crucible
As the various factions race to learn the secrets of Parlainth's disappearance, a broken sculptor and his puppets go to war to eliminate the city's past.
For years, punters in Haven have bet on the never-ending Falsemen war games in Parlainth's War Zone, and it's soon the talk of the town when strange new Falsemen begin to appear on the battlefield. These Falsemen seem to be on a destructive mission all their own—a mission that seems to have an agenda far more sinister than previously displayed by the martial constructs. Meanwhile, the dragon Charcoalgrin recruits adventurers for a war game of her own, intent on capturing an astral nexus hidden beneath the War Zone. Whether they throw their lot in with Throal or with Charcoalgrin, the PCs finally come face-to-face with a long-lost sculptor who helped craft the ritual that erased Parlainth from the world. Tormented by Horrors, condemned to misery, the sculptor has assembled a new wave of Falsemen to help him destroy all that remains of his work... even if the result is a city once again enveloped in death and destruction. What the PCs do next could change Parlainth's future, but can they also redeem its past?
Beyond the Lost Realm
When the fate of Parlainth comes down to a dragon’s passion, a man’s pride, and a nation’s ambition, what will the PCs choose?
The time has come for Charcoalgrin to risk it all in a ritual that could tear Parlainth apart and scatter the pieces through space and time. But if the loss of Parlainth is a potential gain for Barsaive, is it worth the cost in lives? As Therans and Throalites race to stop Charcoalgrin, the PCs are faced with the ghosts of Parlainth and an irreversible choice.
*
ALSO COMING SOON...
*
These two massive adventure tomes will be released just after GenCon. Each contains several adventures. If both compendiums are played one after the other, the journey will take your players from 1st to 12th level!
ADVENTURE COMPENDIUM VOLUME I
THE FLAMES OF AVARICE
Stumbling upon a massacre at an isolated roadside inn, the characters discover an ancient secret on the shattered shore of the Scarlet Sea...
MISTS OF BETRAYAL
A chance meeting with an elderly Wizard Adept leads to a simple errand, one that takes the heroes on a journey of intrigue and betrayal that may end in glory--or death!
PATH OF DECEPTION
The Circle Path Company, a Throalic Merchant House, finds itself under inexperienced and reluctant leadership. When this new leader becomes lost in the ruins of Parlainth, a band of Adepts is assembled to discover what has happened to the missing head of the company. From the streets of Haven, to the Horror-infested sewers of Parlainth, the path of that investigation is one fraught with peril, where the truth is as rare a commodity as a place of sanctuary . . .
TERROR IN THE SKIES
Fire-breathing Horrors plague the skies above Travar. The heroes are asked to help, but the search for a means to defeat the creatures leads to a hidden windling kaer and a lost treasure. Mystery and magic are the keys to saving the city!
ADVENTURE COMPENDIUM VOLUME II
INFECTED
Deep in the isolated hinterlands of Barsaive, where strangers are met with fear and suspicion, the black-clad fanatics of the Grim Legion purge the land from evil. Who’d have thought that a small band of unsuspecting adventurers would arrive to meddle with the Legion’s affairs?
SHATTERED PATTERN
Someone has stolen the old elf’s memory, and the heroes have few clues. On a quest leading to a treacherous wasteland plagued by the wretched disciples of a terrible Horror, the heroes can only hope to live to tell the tale.
BLADES
A quest to learn the dark secret of the ancient Blades of Cara Fahd and unlock their magical power takes the heroes across Barsaive, from the ork Kingdom of Cara Fahd, to the dark heart of the Tylon Mountains.
*
And the following will also be available soon after GenCon!
HORRORS
Even now I dream of claws and fangs and of floating in a vast sea of evil, my lips only a fraction above the surface. At other times I dream of being devoured from the inside out, my skin only minutes from crumbling away to reveal my true self as a Horror ...
--Adesian Skoln, from "Regarding the Horrors, Their Origins, and Their Nature"
Horrors offers a chilling, intimate view of the astral-spawned creatures that ravaged the world of Earthdawn during the Scourge. Presented as a compilation of documents recording what is known of Horrors both great and small, this book provides players and gamemasters with a unique perspective on these abominations: what they are, what they do, and how and why they continue to attack the inhabitants of Barsaive.
This sourcebook describes more than twenty Horrors, including fifteen of the most powerful and dangerous of their kind. Horrors also offers new Horror powers and abilities and guidelines for using Horrors and their deadly spawn in adventures and campaigns.
Yeah.. releasing Prelude to War first would make more sense.
Things like Parlainth being revised to after would be much easier since that is what you guys have been doing all along with 3e. But revising backwards I'd guess would be a bit tougher.
Yep. But we still have a lot of books between now and then anyway!
Good thing I am fat. I can live for months after spending all of my money on ED stuff.
Out of curiousity. Considering the difference in timeline between 1st and 3rd edition. How are you going to handle the SW and PF versions of any 3rd edition books (Such as Kratas) you make in regards to the Theran Behemoth? Also, the reverse, would the 3rd version of a PF/SW book make mention if appropriate?
As for the main setting books. I am very much a Dwarf lover.. but Crystal Raiders PF is my biggest want. :)
I definitely want to get to Crystal Raiders sooner rather than later! I love that book. Working on the Third Edition revision was a big joy, too.
As far as timeline, we have two options--revise it so it takes place before Prelude to War, or wait until after we release Prelude to War (leaning toward the latter).
The Pathfinder version of Creatures of Barsaive will likely be available next week (on track). The goal is to have the Parlainth sourcebook available for both Pathfinder and Savage Worlds soon after (definitely hope to have physical copies of the book at the booth at GenCon!).
The Horrors sourcebook, Adventure Compendium I, and Adventure Compendium II will be September (maybe leaking into October). Drafts will be complete, but they will need a little time to recover after GenCon. :)
For those who remember 1st Edition Earthdawn, the Adventure Compendiums will have the following adventures:
AC1: Flames of Avarice, Mists of Betrayal, Path of Deception, and Terror in the Skies
AC 2: Infected, Shattered Pattern, and Blades
Playing through both volumes will take players from 1st to about 12th level. Note that "Flames of Avarice" was a 3rd-edition adventure written by yours truly (the rest are revamps of 1st-edition modules).
September/October will also see the first installment of our Parlainth Adventure Campaign.
Before the end of the year, I'd also like to get either/both the Throal Sourcebook and Serpent River Sourcebook pushed up, too (we'll see!).
And here is a quick description of the Horrors sourcebook:
HORRORS
Even now I dream of claws and fangs and of floating in a vast sea of evil, my lips only a fraction above the surface. At other times I dream of being devoured from the inside out, my skin only minutes from crumbling away to reveal my true self as a Horror ...
--Adesian Skoln, from "Regarding the Horrors, Their Origins, and Their Nature"
Horrors offers a chilling, intimate view of the astral-spawned creatures that ravaged the world of Earthdawn during the Scourge. Presented as a compilation of documents recording what is known of Horrors both great and small, this book provides players and gamemasters with a unique perspective on these abominations: what they are, what they do, and how and why they continue to attack the inhabitants of Barsaive.
This sourcebook describes more than twenty Horrors, including fifteen of the most powerful and dangerous of their kind. Horrors also offers new Horror powers and abilities and guidelines for using Horrors and their deadly spawn in adventures and campaigns.
The cover will use the same as the 1st edition cover, which can be seen here: HORRORS
I once ran a 27 hour game straight with Earthdawn. Awesome with the original setting/rules. It wasn't a flawless game system, but an amazing structure for a gaming environment. I got the PF edition. Just wanting a bit to recharge my creative batteries before I run another game. That and a few more books to come out.
Awesome! Back in the day, we would run 17-hour games of ED every Saturday/Sunday. And more books are a comin'! As mentioned above, Parlainth and Creatures are coming very soon, followed by the Adventure Compendium I, Adventure Compendium II, Horrors, and the start of the Parlainth Adventure Campaign.
Out of curiousity, has Redbrick ever thought of doing any much smaller PDF only releases like..
Mountains of Barsaive
Waterways of Barsaive/Marshland of Barsaive
Forests of Barsiave/Jungles of Barsaive
With things like sample villages, more critters, etc? The various nations guides give a lot of information, but I am talking about more outside of the nations.
Nothing like that on the schedules currently, but I like the idea. I'm a big fan of more mundane options. I like offering mundane mechanics and playgrounds and allowing adventure to grow organically from more realistic motivations. I'll tuck this idea away for later thought!
It had new editions, up until the beginning of the year, Mongoose was publishing the Earthdawn 3rd edition line.
RedBrick is releasing these as both Pathfinder/Savage Worlds editions....while waiting for the timer to elapse from the Mongoose break to release the ED edition again.
I moved on from Third Edition writing/development to work on these lines, but the crew is still busy working on ED3R (Earthdawn Third Edition revised), which as you mention will be out sometime later.
These lines aren't meant to draw people away from Third Edition, but rather introduce the setting to people who either aren't interested in a different system or never liked the Step System to begin with.
Looks good. I noticed the SW version of Creatures today. I will be eventually getting that when I catch up the SW side of my collection, (currently I have the SW Player and GM Guides) but I was sad that the PF version was not out... that I would have gotten today.
Also, the Parlainth campaign outline looks awesome.
Thank you, sir! I'll be sure to update this thread the moment PF Creatures is out. Just implementing some last developers' notes to some of the statblocks as we speak...
RedBrick is proud to announce two new PDF Earthdawn releases! (Print versions coming soon!) All of these books in this thread will be available at our GenCon booth as well, so please check us out!
**Please note these are all also available for Savage Worlds!
The eight Namegiving races of Barsaive form the heart and soul of the land. They share many experiences and beliefs, but have their own cultures and traditions. Each race is unique and together they breathe life into the land of Barsaive. Denizens of Barsaive Volume One provides an indepth look at four of the Namegiving races of Barsaive:
Elves: Beings of feeling and spirituality, they seek to restore their culture's former glory.
Humans: Versatile enough to learn the unique abilities of every race, they adapt quickly to most any situation.
T'skrang: Flamboyant, reptilian beings with a bravado that reflects their zest for life.
Windlings: Small, winged beings whose passion for change makes them mischievous and unpredictable (and annoying to some).
Denizens of Barsaive Volume One describes the elves, humans, t'skrang, and windlings in detail, and provides race-specific Disciplines, new Adept Skills, unique equipment, and special rules for playing each race. This fascinating and invaluable reference is for Earthdawn Pathfinder RPG Edition players and Game Masters alike.
Denizens of Barsaive II
Dwarfs: Stout and stubborn, the industrious dwarfs are the cultural and political leaders of Barsaive.
Obsidimen: Ancient beings of living rock, these stone giants are perhaps the oldest and most mysterious denizens of Barsaive.
Orks: Passionate and savage, their love for life is surpassed only by their love for battle!
Trolls: Bestial in appearance, these gargantuan mountain dwellers are both fierce and honorable.
Denizens of Barsaive Volume Two describes the dwarfs, obsidimen, orks, and trolls in detail, and provides race-specific Disciplines, new Adept Skills, unique equipment, and special rules for playing each race. This fascinating and invaluable reference is for Earthdawn Pathfinder RPG Edition players and Game Masters alike.
And coming out THIS WEEK!
Creatures of Barsaive
Fearsome and Fascinating!
"The contents of this book have been transcribed from the speaking of Vasdenjas, a most noble and intelligent dragon. I have written down his words almost without alteration, as I found his rambling style of speaking most entertaining."—Tiabdjin the Knower, Scribe and Scholar of the Great Libray of Throal
The Horrors are not the only threat to those who travel across Barsaive. The wild creatures of the land, some twisted by the Scourge into living nightmares, pose many dangers to the adventurer unlucky enough to cross their path. The beautiful death moth, with its fatal sting... the fierce pangolus, whose claws can disembowel a troll with a single stroke... the hell hound, whose magical fire burns everything it touches... all these creatures and more may be the death of the unwary adventurer unless he can defeat them in the pursuit of his quest.
Creatures of Barsaive describes fifty of the most fearsome and fascinating creatures in the province of Barsaive, bringing them to life with a wealth of detail and beautiful illustrations. Told from the point of view of a great dragon, Creatures of Barsaive also offers some insight into that mysterious and powerful species.
If you would like to see the product, please check out the Savage Worlds version here! CREATURES OF BARSAIVE
And also coming very, very, (very!) soon...
Parlainth: The Forgotten City Sourcebook
The ruins of Parlainth beckon the bold explorer, promising profit and peril. For centuries, this fabled Theran city lay hidden in astral space, all knowledge of it erased by a powerful spell until a thief and his apprentice found the lost magic that would bring Parlainth home. Now this ancient seat of Theran power has returned to the land of Barsaive, its people slain and its buildings and streets ravaged by Horrors. Vast sections of it remain unexplored, concealing glittering treasures and objects of unknown power behind crumbling walls and in dank catacombs. Only the boldest adventurers dare explore mysterious Parlainth, risking its dangers in search of wealth. Only those with the courage to challenge the fearsome Horrors lurking in its ruins can claim the name of hero.
This campaign setting is perfect even for your ongoing campaign, as its unique history logically explain how the ancient city could suddenly appear back in your realm! This is also the setting of our upcoming Adventure Campaign--a six-part series of adventures that will take players from 1st to 15th level!
And just in case you missed them...
THE EARTHDAWN PLAYER'S GUIDE (Now a Copper Seller at DriveThru!)
THE AGE OF LEGEND
Before science, before history, there was an Age of Legend... For years humanity huddled in underground kaers, as the astral beings known as the Horrors ravaged the land in an orgy of terror and destruction. Now the long, dark age of the Scourge has passed, and the brave adventurers emerge to reclaim their world.
Elf, ork, t'skrang, human, and other wondrous races explore a world that teems with strange creatures and unseen dangers; a world of lost cities, or ancient, long-forgotten treasures and idescribable wonders; a world where the very earth and sky vibrate with powerful arcane energies.
The Earthdawn® Player's Guide contains what every Pathfinder Roleplaying Game player needs to create one of these brave heroes and help rekindle the glory of days past, including new races, equipment, skills, spells, feats, and rules for being an Adept. Join the adventure and begin roleplaying in Earthdawn, the Age of Legend!
...When the Wizards proclaimed that the Scourge had ended, Jaro, I, and three others broke open the seals on the doors and walked outside. We hoped to find a new world brimming with life. Instead, a barren landscape stretched before us. As quick as thought, the sky grew dark with creatures, their attack nearly overwhelming us. We fought our way back to the kaer, thinking ourselves safe. We soon learned that a Horror had entered the mind of Jaro...
Explore the province of Barsaive, a land that encompasses the high mountain realms of savage troll raiders, lush green jungles that conceal long-forgotten cities, vast plains filled with strange and deadly beasts, and the life-giving waters of the mighty Serpent River. An untamed land still recovering from the depredations of the Scourge, Barsaive now teems with orks and elves, t'skrang lizard-men and human settlers, all drawn by the promise of her breathtaking wonders.
The Earthdawn® Game Master's Guide contains a detailed tour of this troubled province; stats for dozens of new monsters that stalk her lands, including several loathsome Horrors; descriptions of over 30 common and Legendary threaded magical items; rules for the vile practice of Blood Magic; and the esoteric mysteries of ancient legends and nefarious secret societies to populate your campaign!
All of this for the foundation of our upcoming Parlainth Adventure Campaign!
ADVENTURE CAMPAIGN OUTLINE:
PARLAINTH ADVENTURE CAMPAIGN OUTLINE
Relics of the Forgotten City
The PCs’ search for a missing statue leads to an essential truth of Parlainth: What is lost can always be found—at a cost...
Every adventurer knows the ruined city of Parlainth is a dangerous place, but the neighboring town of Haven has dangers of its own when the PCs get involved in the search for a missing statue, sought by everyone from the dragon Charcoalgrin to Throalic agents and Theran diplomats. But only one faction can end up with the statue, and only the PCs can find who has it now. The hunt leads the PCs to into a ruined city beyond the ruined city, an ancient network of tunnels and crumbling buildings outside Parlainth—and the Theran operation that now calls those ruins home.
In Treachery's Shadow
Appearances can be all too deceiving in the ruins of Parlainth, where a battle to save the innocent turns the PCs from heroes to hunted.
Just a stone's throw away from the walls of Haven is the broke-down warren of the Smalls, where bandits, monsters, madmen, and exiles fight for territory. Here, Gynna Thorsef, the ex-Throalite, and her band of outcasts have carved out Gatetown, a bustling black market and haven beyond Haven. Watched by Charcoalgrin and her Unforgivables, Gatetown has also become a target for Throalites and Therans hoping to tap its flow of goods and information. But in the streets of the Smalls, few things are as they seem, and the PCs' simple mission to Gatetown turns to war in the streets as a mysterious Warlord lays siege to the area. Now Gynna recruits the PCs for a new mission: Protect Gatetown from destruction! Holding off the Warlord’s forces is one thing, but there may be no way out once the warlord's real target is revealed to be the PCs themselves.
The Vault of the Dreaming Dead
To uncover one of the keys to Parlainth’s disappearance, the PCs must learn the secrets of the nameless dead in the haunted spirals of the Twists.
Who are the Atl Arvoi? Haven's adventurers are flocking to the Twists in search of this mysterious sect, rumored to command beasts from before the Scourge and guard a trove of arcane artifacts. As a rogue group of Theran agents resolves to protect the sect from outsiders, Throal seeks agents to uncover the Atl Arvoi's secrets and treasures. But for the dragon Charcoalgrin, the real treasure is information on the sect's connection to her lost love. As the PCs plunge into the Twists at the behest of the Throalites, Therans, or Charcoalgrin herself, it becomes clear that the sect will find them and not the other way around. The Atl Arvoi themselves are long dead, but their legacy is a generation of Nameless spirits intent on seizing new bodies and new lives...
Dwellers of Ruin
When a terrible Wizard begins kidnapping innocents to join the ranks of his aberrant army, it’s up to the PCs to uncover and stop the sinister secret.
The Wizard Kamilar has had one goal: to transform Parlainth from a broken city to a lively Theran capital. But despite his best efforts, all that thrives in Parlainth are monsters and Horrors. There’s only way to restore Parlainth to a place where Name-givers can live—turn the Name-givers themselves into monsters as twisted as the ruins! Now Unforgivables are vanishing from the Vaults and adventurers are going missing. Can the PCs stop Kamilar before the final phase of his plan opens up a gateway to new Horrors?
The Nexus Crucible
As the various factions race to learn the secrets of Parlainth's disappearance, a broken sculptor and his puppets go to war to eliminate the city's past.
For years, punters in Haven have bet on the never-ending Falsemen war games in Parlainth's War Zone, and it's soon the talk of the town when strange new Falsemen begin to appear on the battlefield. These Falsemen seem to be on a destructive mission all their own—a mission that seems to have an agenda far more sinister than previously displayed by the martial constructs. Meanwhile, the dragon Charcoalgrin recruits adventurers for a war game of her own, intent on capturing an astral nexus hidden beneath the War Zone. Whether they throw their lot in with Throal or with Charcoalgrin, the PCs finally come face-to-face with a long-lost sculptor who helped craft the ritual that erased Parlainth from the world. Tormented by Horrors, condemned to misery, the sculptor has assembled a new wave of Falsemen to help him destroy all that remains of his work... even if the result is a city once again enveloped in death and destruction. What the PCs do next could change Parlainth's future, but can they also redeem its past?
Beyond the Lost Realm
When the fate of Parlainth comes down to a dragon’s passion, a man’s pride, and a nation’s ambition, what will the PCs choose?
The time has come for Charcoalgrin to risk it all in a ritual that could tear Parlainth apart and scatter the pieces through space and time. But if the loss of Parlainth is a potential gain for Barsaive, is it worth the cost in lives? As Therans and Throalites race to stop Charcoalgrin, the PCs are faced with the ghosts of Parlainth and an irreversible choice.
