E-Dawn Volume 15: April 2005 Edition
Spoiler
Alert: This journal contains spoilers for the Legend of Earthdawn Volume
1 quest: The Heart of Heroes, Alley Varney Earthdawn Legend: Render unto Freda,
and Chronicles of Barsaive: Liaj Jungle.
PC RECAP
Pugsli’s Spy Report #2
Riag 13
Boss,
We
entered a windling village called Kenterell. Here we met an oddball dragonkin
called Ninheim and a troll from House Firescale called Kracknar Firemail.
Kracknar found Ninheim raving and ranting on the road recently and brought him
here to recover. After talking to them briefly we were attacked by Ioposians
trying to get Ninheim. We fought them off easily. The windling leader of the
village tossed us a weird coin called a Bronze Dangdang, which had a nasty
story. Apparently a windling questor of Dis named Freda was driven mad here by
the windling Emperor Pasha wrongfully confined by her for a petty crime. When
we tried to leave the village, Freda appeared as a Spectral Dancer and all the
windlings of the village turned into ally spirits. The Emperor had cursed the
poor souls. I danced with Freda till I nearly fell unconscious trying to soothe
her 500-year misery. In the end, it was enough to break the curse and gain our
exit from the village. Upon her release she told us to head to Vors and find
Lyra before heading to the netherealms.
-P
Riag 15
Boss,
We
met an elf ninja in Ishkarat today. His name is Smidi Concade. I’m pretty sure
Thunder allowed him to join just because he is an elf. I don’t trust him, but
at least we have all nine Name-Giver races now.
-P
Riag 16
Boss,
A
bunch of black vultures attacked us while we on the Serpent River going to
Vors. They tried to eat me! I’m so getting tired of that.
-P
Riag 17
Boss,
We
found out that there had been forty-six windling children kidnapped in Vors
from Lyra. We set out to save them from whoever had abducted them. Pat
O’Reilley used his Direction Arrow talent to track the children using the
children’s extra set of clothes. They were close and we were on the hunt.
-P
Riag 21
Boss,
An
ork beastmaster named Magda ambushed us. She attacked us with her pet black
vultures. She seemed enraged at us for killing her pets before. She was after
Oviare since Khan wanted him for getting him kicked out Cara Fahd. We defeated
her and her pets. Speaking of…was it wise to kick out Toke Heartfire and let
him join up with that brigand? I know you were just trying to protect him from
Purity of the Flame and V’Dor Revanche but this doesn’t seem like the way to do
it.
-P
Riag 21 response dated Teayu 1
P,
We
have things under control with the Heartfire situation. Mind your own business
P.
-R
Riag 24
Boss,
We
arrived at a shady town on the border of the Liaj Jungle called Kesmerak. We
went to a bar called the Speckled Tiger where we talked with the bartender
Haemic. He told us about a man named Chang who was headed south into the Liaj
Jungle with about nine other orks and some windling kids in tow. We stayed the
night there.
-P
Riag 25
Boss,
Pat’s
Direction Arrow failed. We had to track them the old fashioned way. Fortunately
Smidi’s an excellent tracker. We found a trail eventually leading south and
slightly west.
-P
Riag 27
Boss,
We
were attacked by a Death Moth on watch. I got behind the creature and finished
him in one attack.
-P
Riag 28
Boss,
We
found a large wooden house by a much stranger octagonal stone building. A bunch
of orange butterflies were around…what are those called again? Anyway not
important. Chang was here with his nine ork swordmaster buddies. He apparently
trained them himself emulating you. He’s no slayer though, so we beat them. It
wasn’t easy though. The troll sky raider died after Chang taunted him. Chang
himself used an odd Doublesword. You’d have to see it to believe it. I think
Smidi or Seth got to the blade. We freed the windling kids from the amulets
that were rigged to explode or something if they were took off improperly. Khan had also written us a note to leave him
and his plans alone or be killed. Khan used the windling kids to get some rocks
from the octagonal structure. They were really light and durable at the same
time, perfect material for making weapons or armor. This guy is becoming a
problem boss. I found a map to a place called Karnol on the edge of the Heart
Wood where the Windling Key is.
-P
Riag 28 response dated Teayu 8
P,
The
orange butterflies are called Monarchs although there exists a mimic called
Viceroy. You can trust our source for this information. Khan will
be dealt with in time. Get the Windling Key as planned.
-R
Riag 29
Boss,
Usun
paid us a visit. He told us to get out of his jungle. Ninheim and Oviare ran
away so Usun breathed fire on them. I guess the only reason he didn’t bake us
completely was the 46 windling kids we were traveling with. These guys
supposedly have been in the Liaj six times already! This group is stupid, but
brave I guess.
-P
Teayu 2
Boss,
We
managed to save four more windlings from a couple of ork kidnappers. One of
them was the bartender of the Speckled Tiger, Haemic, the other was called
Wallace. We paid some of the local constables (thugs) to beat them up while we
saved the kids.
-P
Teayu 8
Boss,
We
returned the windling kids to Lyra at Vors and their grateful parents gave us
5,000 Silver pieces, about 500 Silver pieces each. We stayed in town and trained
for a week. Who knows what is going to happen in the Heart Wood.
-P
Teayu 19
Boss,
We
traveled north to the Heart Wood. Thorn Men attacked us at the border. Strange
considering the “Transformation”. These guys were much tougher than I thought,
they had a Thorn Tornado that killed Tweak, animated trees to attack, and could
cover you in vines, choking you. As we
entered the wood an envoy of Heart Wood exolashers approached us telling us to
leave. When we told them we were going to Karnol they laughed and let us enter
anyway. That is not a good sign.
-P
Teayu 19 response dated Teayu 29
P,
There
is no such thing as a Thorn Tornado according to Heart Wood sources. You have a
betrayer in your group. Watch your back P.
-R
Teayu 20
Boss,
Ethandrilles
attacked us. They didn’t even touch Smidi. We managed to defeat them after
Para’s counterspell stopped their lightning attacks. We met an elf elementalist
named Gail who said she was studying the Ethandrilles’ behavior. She said they
were attacking all non-elves. When we mentioned Karnol she told us that she
would guide us there.
-P
Teayu 21
Boss,
We
approached Karnol when we were annoyed by a couple of singing and glowing
creatures using entrancement. They eventually flew away after realizing that we
were too many for their tricks to work.
-P
Teayu 22
Boss,
Karnol
looked to be a destroyed windling village. Gail refused to enter the village.
When we entered to look for the key, changelings, warped windlings, attacked
us. The battle was gruesome. Smidi was killed when they bone shaped his skull
into his brain, what a way to go. I stole the key from Para. Now what?
-P
Teayu 22 response dated Borrum 2
P,
Whatever
you do, don’t thread the key P! It could potentially cause you to change your
pattern completely or even change your personality. There are a multitude of
requirements for this to work. You must get all the keys and names, formulate a
group pattern, and then collect the physical form of the Heart of Heroes. D has
formed his own group for this purpose. Your job is to get as many keys as
possible with the current group while our group gets the other ones. If our
group meets yours…you know what to do. Once your group has collected the keys,
be sure to steal them and return P.
-R
Borrum 2 response dated Borrum 12
Boss,
That’s pretty devious. It’s totally my
style.
-P
NEW CHARACTER BIOS #6
Concepts by the Players and Written Up by Steven James Black
GAIL ESCALANAS (CASSANDRA)
Race: Elf
Discipline: Elementalist
Circle: Fourth
Homeland: Heart Wood
Character Background: Formerly a Blood Elf, who
survived the transformation back to “unprotected” elf. She believes in the
Heart Wood Court, and believes no other elf should have to endure the pain she
once felt. A massive scar can be seen down her left side where the wood
elemental ripped out. She was observing Ethandrilles and their new aggression
towards all non-elves when she met the party and led them to Karnol. She
believes the Ethandrilles can be saved from their madness after the
“transformation”.
Long-term Goals: Keep the Heart Wood safe. Save the
Ethandrilles from the insanity caused by the “transformation”.
KRACKNAR FIREMAIL (KEVIN)
Race: Troll
Discipline: Sky Raider
Circle: Third
Homeland: Firescale Moot in the Scol Mountains
Long-term Goals: Protect Ninheim as a Bodyguard.
SMIDI CONCADE (JOSHUA)
Race: Elf
Discipline: Ninja
Circle: Fourth
Homeland: Cathay
Long-term Goals: Commit assassinations for the Hand
of Corruption.
CHARACTER GRAVEYARD #3
Written By Steven James Black
Kracknar Firemail was killed by Third Circle ork
Swordmasters in the battle with Chang.
Tweak was killed by a Juggler’s Touch spell using Thorn Man
needles cast by Para, the so called “Thorn Storm” talked about above. Oviare
gave him an ork burial, as he was part ork.
Smidi Concade was killed in the battle with the changelings;
his skull was crushed in by their bone-shaping power.
RULES UPDATE: GRIMOIRES #3
I changed the price of spells to
Circle x 100 Silver pieces for simplicity, thus all the Legend Point costs for
spells are Circle x 100 Legend Points, a lot easier to calculate.
OTHER EARTHDAWN CAMPAIGN STYLES
There are a lot more campaign
styles to Earthdawn than merely exploration and kaer diving. This
details some other campaigns of interest to Earthdawn gamemasters.
Before starting a new campaign, be sure to discuss it with the players first.
Many have a campaign style that they tend to enjoy more than others. If you and
the players agree on a campaign style, both the gamemaster and players need to
stick to that style in character design and storyline otherwise it won’t work.
Liberation/Resistance campaign: The characters start
out as slaves or newots. As slaves they dream of being free and as newots they
may wish to be free or become real members of the trollmoot. The players learn
about slavery or something like it firsthand. Then the players are unexpectedly
saved by a group of Liberators such as those from the Vivane Resistance or
Justice for All. After being freed they
may wish to join the Resistance and help free other slaves from their previous
fate. In this campaign, beastmasters (trying to free animals from circuses or
that insane nethermancer doing animal research) and liberators are the
Disciplines of choice.
Living Legend Cult/Secret Organization campaign: The
characters are involved in a cult devoted to a particular item or another
secret organization. Obviously Secret Societies of Barsaive and the Gamemastering
Barsaive book are of major use. The party has a powerful Patron who sends
them on missions to further the organization’s causes and usually many enemies
against the secret societies’ cause. One of the best-known examples is the
Seekers of the Heart Living Legend Cult whose aim to turn the Blood Wood back
is obviously opposed by most Blood Elves. Some useful Merits and Flaws include
the Patron Merit and the Criminal Flaw, Enemy, and Pursued Flaws (most Seekers
of the Heart are considered criminals in the Blood Wood for obvious reasons).
Military campaign: The characters are involved in the
military, usually Throalic, Theran, or Ioposian, but it could also be a
riverboat-based campaign on the Serpent River or even a drakkar campaign with
players from a Trollmoot. The mission
objective is fairly clear; doing whatever the country, House, or clan needs to
survive. A military campaign can be aided by taking the Military Rank Merit and
Duty Flaw, giving the players ranks to maintain, and a goal in gaining new
ranks. This is an interesting campaign style for use in Prelude to War
or Barsaive at War. The best style of this campaign has the players as
spies or scouts rather than large-scale conflict, although this may be
involved.
Political campaign: The characters are involved in
the ruling the government as nobles or as merchants with a say. Or perhaps there
is a noble who keeps forgetting his duty to his people and a servant of his
uses a disguise to act as him? At any rate, the political campaign has the
players deeply invested in the day to day running of a particular government.
When necessary they use their adepts powers to negotiate with or fight off
threats to the community from within or from without. Merits and Flaws that are
of use are the Noble Merit, Wealth Merit, Cost of Living, Duty Flaw, Servant
Flaw, and other socially-related Merits and Flaws. An interesting campaign style has the players
as the ruling body of a small rural village attempting to expand. Other
neighboring communities may be major obstacles to this requiring negotiation
and fighting. As the town grows, ork scorchers may attempt to raid the town or
neighboring towns requiring the villages to ally against the scorchers. At any
rate, the political campaign is more about negotiation than fighting making it
an ideal campaign for troubadours and weaponsmiths who tend not to be the focus
of other campaigns.
MERITS AND FLAWS SYSTEM UPDATE:
More Merits and Flaws for your perusal.
Merits
Alertness: The character has heightened senses. Add
+1 to Perception step when using the five senses of Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste,
and Touch. 5 Point Merit.
Increased Pain Threshold: The character can withstand
1 more Wound than normal without incurring Wound Penalties. 6 Point Merit.
Military Rank: The character has a rank above private
in a military organization. The character must meet the Merit Point and Circle
requirements for this merit. This Merit is almost always accompanied by the
Duty Flaw. This Merit is best used in military campaigns such as Prelude to
War and Barsaive at War.
Rank 1: Sergeant; 2 Point +Third Circle—25 Silver pieces
stipend a month
Rank 2: Lieutenant; 4 Point +Fifth Circle—50 Silver pieces
stipend a month
Rank 3: Captain; 6 Point + Seventh Circle—75 Silver pieces stipend
a month
Rank 4: Colonel; 8 Point + Ninth Circle—100 Silver pieces
stipend a month
Rank 5: General; 10 Point + Eleventh Circle—150 Silver
pieces stipend a month
A character with a Military Rank has a military stipend and
the military pays for Cost of Living whenever they are on a mission
commissioned by that military. They have added status and trust in the eyes of
the people they protect gaining +1 Interaction Test step when in uniform in
that area. They may also be able to requisition gear from the military or bring
in NPC allies who are in his unit. The character also gains the enemies of
their military as well.
Example: A Third Circle dwarf warrior is a sergeant in
the Throal military. The Throal military pays for his Cost of Living whenever
on missions for them and pays him 25 Silver pieces a month. While in Throal he
gains a +1 Interaction Test step bonus when in uniform. As a sergeant, he could
requisition gear provided he is willing to return the item or take it out of
his military stipend or he could request that his superiors allow him to take a
private on as an aid for a mission.
Noble: The character is a noble and a member of the
ruling class of a kingdom. The character will usually also have the Wealthy
Merit and the Duty and High Cost of Living Flaws. A noble gains a +1 on all
Interaction Tests within their kingdom. A noble has a responsibility to their
people and their House and may have to do missions for them. This Merit is
suitable for a political or social campaign. 2 Point Merit.
Patron: The character has a powerful employer in a
secret organization or living legend cult who sends them on missions and
occasionally comes to the player’s aid either personally or through group
members. While on missions for him, the Patron pays the character’s Cost of
Living and a Stipend as per Military Rank. This Merit is suitable for a secret
organization campaign. 5 Point Merit.
Supporter: The character has a supporter starting off
with all the benefits and disadvantages in the Earthdawn Companion. 5
Point Merit.
Flaws
Berserk: The character has a bad temper. When the
character is given a Wound in combat, he flies into a terrible rage and uses
the Aggressive Attack combat option against the foe that hurt him. Once that
foe is dead the character continues attacking whoever is closest until 10
rounds have passed when the Berserk status ends. 3 Point Flaw.
Criminal: The character is either a fugitive accused
of a crime or a convicted criminal who has recently been released. The
character has a –1 to all Interaction Tests within the area that they committed
or supposedly committed the crime. The
fugitive will almost always have the Pursued Flaw. 2 Point Flaw.
Dependent: The character has a dependent. The
character must take care of the dependent by paying their Cost of Living.
Enemies may also strike at you through the dependent. 5 Point Flaw.
Dulled Senses: For whatever reason the character has
weaker perception than normal. Subtract -1 from the Perception step when using
the five senses of Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, and Touch. 5 Point Flaw.
Duty: The character has a duty to a military
organization, government, or secret group. The character must work for this
organization or government most of the time (At least 9 months a year). The
Duty Flaw’s Point value is the same as the Noble, Military Rank, or Patron
Merit Point value.
Enemy: The character has made a powerful enemy who
controls a government or organization. The Enemy will not actively pursue them;
only make life difficult if the character shows up in their area. 2 Point Flaw.
Karma Burner: The character has a flaw in his karma
use. Whenever the character can use a Karma Point, the character must always
spend a Karma Point even sacrificing Recovery Tests to do so. 4 Point Flaw.
Newot, Servant, Slave: The character is dependent on
their master to survive and may or may not be planning to escape based on their
treatment. The character has a –1 on all Interaction Tests within the society
that knows about their low status. A good flaw for leading into a
Liberation/Resistance campaign. 2 Point Flaw.
Pursued: The character has made a powerful enemy who
is actively hunting the character with bounty hunters and mercenaries. May be combined with the Enemy and Criminal
Flaws.
4 Point Flaw.
Reduced Pain Threshold: The character starts accruing
Wound Penalties starting with the First Wound. 6 Point Flaw.
Rival: The character has made a powerful rival who
wants to make the character look bad but not kill the character. They possibly
have aims at something the character also wants such as a mutual love interest.
2 Point Flaw.
Unlucky: Once per session the gamemaster may reroll
any one successful Test the character makes. The character must take the result
of the second roll. 5 Point Flaw.
UNUSUAL RACE/DISCIPLINE COMBINATIONS #11
Troubadours aren’t often played at all IMB. Certain races
are naturals at the Discipline. The elf, t’skrang, and windling race all have
Charisma Attribute bonuses and a natural talent for stories and singing. Human
troubadour is pretty common too; the current NPC Marissa is a Human Troubadour.
I’ve actually seen quite a few ork and obsidiman troubadours in spite of their
Charisma Attribute penalty. The dwarf troubadour has never happened, although
I’ve seen a few sages and traveled scholars IMB. The troll troubadour seems to
happen a lot more in the books than in game too. So for this edition, Dwarf and
troll troubadours are your unusual race/Discipline combination.
Dwarf Troubadour
Advantages: The +3 Toughness Attribute bonus is a
huge advantage, adding a Toughness step and allowing the character to survive a
lot easier than normal, especially with the average (6/5) Durability of the
troubadour. The +2 Strength Attribute bonus can be an advantage for a character
who wants to be able to carry a huge variety of instruments, but otherwise this
isn’t much of an advantage at all (Neutral).
Disadvantages: The –2 Charisma Attribute penalty is
an obvious disadvantage to the troubadour’s social talents. The lack of a
Dexterity, and Perception Attribute bonus are disadvantages as well. A high
Dexterity can help the character attack more effectively. A high Perception is
necessary for the other half of the troubadour’s talents.
Neutral: The lack of a Willpower Attribute bonus
doesn’t hurt the character much, although it’s a useful Attribute for some
troubadour talents such as Incite Mob.
Attributes (66 purchase points):
DEX: 13=(13): 6/D10
STR: 11+2=(13): 6/D10
TOU: 13+3=(16): 7/D12
PER: 14=(14): 6/D10
WIL: 11=(11): 5/D8
CHA: 17-2=(15): 6/D10
Commentary: A dwarf troubadour can be fun to play.
Personally, I like the concept of the one-man band. A dwarf troubadour who
acquires as many instruments as possible and gets the Craftsman; Mechanic skill
and tries to figure out a way to play all the instruments at once by tinkering
sounds like a lot of fun to me. He could have been a dwarf whose family is
known to be mechanics and left to become a troubadour causing the family a huge
degree of shame, possibly disowning him, or even understanding what he is
trying to invent. He’ll need a lot of Music; Instrument skills as well.
Statistically,
increasing the character’s Charisma Attribute by 1 point increases Charisma to
step 7. Increasing the character’s Dexterity Attribute by 1 point increases his
Physical Defense by 1. Increasing the
character’s Perception Attribute by 2 points will increases Perception to step
7 as well. Willpower seems like a major weakness at this point. Increasing the
character’s Willpower by 2 points increases Willpower to step 6. Following this
makes the character’s Attributes look like this at Seventh Circle:
Attributes (Seventh Circle):
DEX: 13 [+1]=(14): 6/D10
STR: 11+2=(13): 6/D10
TOU: 13+3=(16): 7/D12
PER: 14 [+2]=(16): 7/D12
WIL: 11[+2]=(13): 6/D10
CHA: 17-2 [+1]=(16): 7/D12
For skills, you obviously need the
Craftsman; Mechanic skill for this to work as well as Music; Instrument skills.
This character is no front-line combatant. Try and get social orientated skills
and city-based Knowledge skills like Streetwise to know the ins and outs of the
urban environment.
For multi-discipline, this
character concept has a natural link to the Weaponsmith and wizard Disciplines.
Both of them put a high priority on crafting and creating as well as ideas and
invention.
Troll Troubadour
Advantages: The +2 Toughness Attribute bonus is a
huge advantage, adding almost a Toughness step and allowing the character to
survive a lot easier than normal, especially with the average (6/5) Durability
of the troubadour. The +1 Willpower Attribute helps make talents like Incite
Mob more effective. The +4 Strength Attribute bonus can be an advantage for a
character that wants to be able to carry a huge variety of instruments, but
otherwise this isn’t much of an advantage at all (Neutral).
Disadvantages: The –1 Perception Attribute penalty is
an obvious disadvantage to the troubadour’s mental-based talents. The lack of a
Dexterity, and Charisma Attribute bonus are disadvantages as well. A high
Dexterity can help the character attack more effectively. A high Charisma is
necessary for the troubadour’s social talents.
Attributes (66 purchase points):
DEX: 13=(13): 6/D10
STR: 11+4=(15): 6/D10
TOU: 14+2=(16): 7/D12
PER: 13=(13): 6/D10
WIL: 12+1=(13): 6/D10
CHA: 16=(16): 7/D12
Commentary: A troll troubadour can be interesting to
play. A troll troubadour can challenge the notion of the uncivilized troll race
through his civility or embrace the incivility of his race and revel in its
tales through story and song. The civilized troll troubadour takes pains to
keep the lowland culture and the etiquette in mind whereas the uncivilized one
only cares about highland culture and etiquette, coming off abrasive to the
lowland folk. Since most lowland people don’t know the highland’s tales there
is money in it either way too.
Statistically,
I’d increase the mental Attributes for the civilized troll troubadour and the
physical Attributes of the uncivilized one as follows:
Troll Troubadour “Civilized” (Seventh Circle):
DEX: 13 [+1]=(14): 6/D10
STR: 11+4=(15): 6/D10
TOU: 13+3=(16): 7/D12
PER: 13 [+3]=(16): 7/D12
WIL: 13=(13): 6/D10
CHA: 16[+2]=(18): 7/D12
Troll Troubadour “Uncivilized” (Seventh Circle):
DEX: 13 [+3]=(16): 7/D12
STR: 11+4[+1]=(16): 7/D12
TOU: 13+3=(16): 7/D12
PER: 13 [+1]=(14): 6/D10
WIL: 13[+1]=(14): 6/D10
CHA: 16=(16): 7/D12
For skills, the “Civilized” troll
troubadour cares about social skills mostly. Skills like Etiquette and
Conversation give an impression of the character as more refined and cultured.
The “Uncivilized” troll troubadour cares more about combat than most
troubadours, taking skills like Avoid Blow, Battle Shout, and Shield Charge
have a higher priority for him. Either way, the character needs the
Storytelling skill to tell the stories of the highland troll.
For multi-discipline, the troll
troubadour character concept has a natural link to the sky raider Discipline.
Through telling their tales the character may end up wanted to be a sky raider
themselves and take center stage in their stories.
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