The Black Sun [Earthdawn Interest Check] [Forum] [Dice]

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

I'm pretty sure we should all be aware that I'm likely to play a Windling.

The winged terrors of Barsavian skies.

 

[SephirothSage]

Alright. Wait- how about running a Prolouge- in the Kaer, as you say, without our Stats- just knowing what Disciplines we plan to be- to flesh our charachters out?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

That's more or less what I was thinking, sir! It'll mostly be interaction and some hijinks here and there. Hopefully a little plotting for the future out in that big, bright, terrifying world.

 

[Crocodile]

Oooh, wonder if Sky Pirate is still an option...

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Also, if anyone's interested, here's a little thread RP Skrakes and I played out as I wanted to reacquaint with Earthdawn's setting and some mechanics:


http://www.roleplay.zone/threads/glory-to-the-pathfinders-earthdawn.58940/

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Oooh, wonder if Sky Pirate is still an option...

Can be! You can make some weird and plausible excuses when it comes to kaers.

 

[SephirothSage]

Pretty...


So- I know what I want to be, I think.


A Nethermancer with the right mind-set to later become a Horror Stalker. How do you view this idea, Lord Cthulhu?


(Sorry, It's just- your Username. Tickles my Lovecraft-Fanboyism in all the right places. As does this setting.)

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

I am pleased by your homage.


But that sounds right as rain to me! You'll love meeting the Grim Legion at some point, I'm sure. Also, man, wait until you read the setting's backstory. It's still perhaps one of the most riveting in all of gaming, for my money. Your Lovecraft fan-bells will be going off all over the place. Horrors alone run the gamut.

 

[Silent Wayfarer]

My experience with Earthdawn comes from the Horrors book, which is awesome.

 

[Inquisitor]

Jeeze, everyone talking crazy weird things and here I am, just a Weaponsmith. #SimpleLife

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

#justsmithingthings

 

[SephirothSage]

Cool, let's work together to make magic weapons.


And then kill the shit out of things with them. Fuck yeah.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Need moar airships.

 

[SephirothSage]

So..


Airships with Giant Magitech Cannons, all Final Fantasy Style up in this shit, is the long term goal? I approve.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

That's more Darkening Skies's balliwick, but you can get close enough.

 

[SephirothSage]

Yeah, I was mostly kidding.


This strikes me more as....


"The Game where it has Eldritch Horrors, but you /actually stand a chance against them/.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Indeed.





Raging against the dying of the light is this setting's hat in a big, big way. Sprinkle in Indiana Jones esque ruin diving and intrigue and great warfare...that's Earthdawn. With a huge dash of Post Apoc (fantasy style).

 

[SephirothSage]

Yup..


In Short, I'm in love.


"Humanity Doesn't give up."


Even if the word "Humanity" has to be expanded to include other Sentient races- in this kind of Scenario, it is essentially true. And it is a concept I love going with. Because we Humans? We little Monkeys? We are some /Tenacious/ Mother fuckers. Hell- that aspect is a big part of why I love Cthulhutech so damn much... even if the system is /clunky as all hell/.


This seems likely to have a better system, than Cthulhutech- and even a better looking setting, if I'm entirely honest. Which reminds me- is the /system/ at all similar to Shadowrun..?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Never played Shadowrun, so I cannot accurately answer that. This uses the Step System. Progresses thusly: take any Talent, say Climbing. You roll your rank in it (call it 4 for this example) plus your Dexterity Step (call it 8 because you're a fleet t'skrang). Gives you a total Step 12 to roll. Just take a peek at the Step Chart (one available in every book and easily found online) and you see that you'll roll 2d10. Simple as that. And dice explode if you max out the die. That chart is what you use and it serves every roll you make. Easy as that.

 

[SephirothSage]

I see... Very different from Shadowrun, so hey.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Skrakes can attest that it's not too bad.


*cocks gun*

 

[SephirothSage]

Dude.


I have played /Spacemaster/.


I have played /Cthulhutech/.


It /literally cannot be worse than those/.


While fun, those games have intentionally convuluted and complicated systems.


IE- Spacemaster, every attack from every form of Damage, results in rolling on at least two charts.


Cthulhutech is just... crazy.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Oh, Spacemaster, is that a derivative of Rolemaster? If so, you poor, poor soul. I'll set up a charity in your name. Because fuck that game.

 

[SephirothSage]

Yes, it's Sci-Fi Rolemaster.


And you know what?


/I fucking enjoyed it/.

 

[hellrazoromega]

http://www.fasagames.com/blog/?category=Earthdawn[/URL] where they're showing off some 4th Ed changes to Talents and the like, it'll help.


I am here for ALL questions and concerns. Hell, we may even run the time in the kaer using 3rd Edition. It's not too bad to learn and should fit well enough in 4th Edition rules.

That is about how it was even way back in 1st ed.

@hellrazoromega[/URL] reminds me--the number of humans in this game will be limited. I will not negotiate that at all. You'll figure it out as you read. There are ton of races and I will not have a random band of merry humans because everyone wants Versatility*.
@SephirothSage I'd say for the moment, pick a Discipline and we can work details from there. There's plenty of time to read through things and work out whatever concepts. No need to multi right out of the gate!


*Most broken Racial Ability in the game. Not entirely broken, it has its limitations, but that doesn't stop most groups.

The thing with some Earthdawn ST is that they frown on random selections of Disciplines in Earthdawn--more so than any other game you Discipline is not just a class it is who you are, part of you Name if you will (check out the fluff). Cthulhu might take a different view but in my games A Nethermaner-Horror Stalker would be a nigh impossible sell becasue the Dispense are very opposed in goals and styles. In fact Multi-Discipline Characters are *extremely* rare (I think the 1st Ed. book even says so as I recall) , which is part of why everyone loves Versatility so much.


Versatility *is* way cool. But that is OK if I can't get dibs on a human, and Elf or Windling could be doable for that extra sweet Krama Step. Yeah Versatility is a wicked ability but you forgo the cool stuff other races have. The other huge mistake I have seen human characters make in the game is to dump way to much into Versatility to get all the cool abilities they see and then they never go up in circle--which is really bad for those that don't know.


The link you gave looks cool, I hope they do more with Pattern Items, in our old games the STs would try to come up with cool abilities as you wove new thread other than just step increases or extra armor and stuff. The increses are cool but we linked to come up with stuff that made the items more individual and unique.