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- Aug 5, 2010
Edit: Moved my ‘free-form’ Earthdawn Request over here, as it existed before System Style existed. Nuking the other thread. Also open to a magic focused Shadowrun RP, but far less so.
Odds are you might not know what the Earthdawn setting is. And in a way, I rather you do not, but if you do that is fine. My real motivation is to run a world around one character, yours, after playing way too much Skyrim, but not being successful in finding Skyrim RPs. So I want to do something different. Use a setting I know, many do not, and with that perhaps surprise a few due to differences in that setting.
Note this is a MASSIVE setting despite fairly simple rules. This will NOT be a casual RP! I do have some prerequisites for your character. You will be playing a human. In Barsaive, magic got to such of a high level that monsters from the astral planes called Horrors invaded. People had to lock themselves in kaers, which were usually underground complexes a community lives in, though it is not always underground. Your character, no older than 25, never seen the outside world since its been a more than 400 years since the Scourge started. The kaer your character has been living in is about to open up after all these decades, and no one knows what is outside.
Earthdawn fans will know what I am talking about. What I am hoping to find is a fan of fantasy willing to RP with one who like to be in control of the world and all the other characters in a setting that bends traditional cliches. And please, if you do not know of Earthdawn, do not cheat and look it up! I want genuine surprise not just from your character but you yourself too!
Sex at least initially will swing to the light side. Romance is certainly a possibility. As for the D&D type of class, there is a few but its not quite the same as D&D. In our out of character I will need you to tell me basically what you like to play and I'll work it in. But your character will be inexperienced. If you are familiar with Earthdawn, this is waved. Reason, again, is because Earthdawn is not D&D!
E-mail preferred, PM otherwise. Here are the rules to the game: http://bluemoonroleplaying.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=29902 And below is what I can describe about the setting.
What is motivating me to doing this?: To recreate, from the other side for someone else, the sense like playing an Elder Scrolls game for the first time. Being plopped in the middle of a fantasy world ripe for self-discovery while not hitting on all of fantasy’s cliches. Earthdawn has something for anyone who likes any of the following: exploration & discovery, political intrigue, Lovecraftian horror, or general dungeon looting.
How familiar are you with this setting / What if I know Earthdawn?: It was my favorite fantasy table-top RPG and got several of the books, though of course not all. That said, its been YEARS since I last played it and might get certain details wrong. I am a major fan of FASA and still sad they closed their doors even now. And a curious note to any Shadowrun fans out there: Earthdawn is set in the same world! I don’t know if the current holders of the game is building on FASA’s hint the Scourge will return. Yes, that means I am ignorant of Living Room Games and RedBrick’s versions of Earthdawn. Am I showing my age? Edit: I sense got the 3rd edition rules, but only a little familiar with 'recent' history.
Why underground?: The whole premise of Earthdawn is for 400 years everyone must go to hiding as Horrors rampage the world. The knowledge how to do this is given by the primary political antagonist, Thera. Called kaers, underground towns and cities with protective wards. A few, not wanting to be in debt to Thera, tried their own methods. One attempt like this ended in disaster. This will be set in the early years when exploration and rediscovery was high.
What if I want to play a non-human?: Technically you might be able to. But I still prefer your character to be young and ignorant of the world outside. Which means being locked up with a bunch of humans. What I am willing to spoil is the following. Of the eight races, Dwarves make up roughly a third of the population and are the dominate race. Humans are not the top of the social chain. Nor do all Dwarves live underground by default. Everyone speak the Dwarven language as they are the dominate race. Elves has their home, called Wyrmwood, but note if you play an elf you won’t be starting out there. Aye, I am avoiding a spoiler here. Check TVTropes if you want the spoilerage. I want to keep silent of the other races, including the traditional orks. K, not C. Oh, and there is one race unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a fantasy setting. Damn I love this setting.... Oh, and that reminds me.
How about magic?: Might as well say, “What about threads?” There is typical spellcasters in four varieties: Wizard, Elementalist, Illusionist, and Nethermancer. But as magic is so high, EVERYONE, including a bare-fisted tank of a warrior, will be using magic. Non-spellcasters that use magic are called Adepts and both go through their Disciplines via Circles. (That’s class and level to you D&D players out there) However, the game itself is very much a ‘skill’ based system. Except many of these skills are magical talents and not mundane skills.
Magic (spells, talents, and magical items) are divided into two facets: patterns and threads. Everyone are called Name-Givers because the ability to name something is by itself magical as it creates a pattern. Threads are woven into patterns to form spells, argument abilities, or unlock magical potential. It is not as complicated as it sounds and as I rather you begin as a “Level 0” something, this isn’t important early on. Oh, and if you want to use magical items, being a Weaponsmith, Troubadour (think Bard), or a human will help out a lot.
What Disciplines (classes) are there?: I don’t want to list all the core 15 of them (or the few race specific ones) as two of the 15 are, to me, spoilage for an Earthdawn newbie who wants to be awed. One will be bulky to work with. Combat classes are more specific: Swordmaster, Archer, Warrior for example. The latter should do for barbarians and monks for you D&D players. There is two rougish classes, the classic Thief and the less criminal Scout. I have the four spellcasters and two others listed above. No druids but there is a Beastmaster. Others I either don’t want to spoil (or let you play as... ugh, the human only discipline!). Its best if you tell me generically what you want to play and let me figure out which Discipline works out the best. Picking up two different Disciplines, ‘multi-classing’, is possible but is difficult.
And Clerics? Or religion in general?: There is no clerics or groups of gods in the D&D since. Rather, there is Passions. Instead of being a god of a certain group (a certain race or class) or thing (magic), these superbeings - which a few don’t even believe exists - represent activities and/or emotion. What drive people, hence their name. They are followed, not worshiped. That said, it is possible for a you to become a cleric like follower of a Passion, gaining new abilities in exchange for acting true to your Passion. You can’t start out as one though even if you follow one in spirit. Again, I rather not list them as some are huge spoilers. Including #13 that is rumored to be under the Dead Sea. No god vs. god or the generic cleric vs. hordes of undead. Horrors are bad enough.
What are these Horrors?: This is not Planescape. They reside in astral space and resemble typical Lovecraftian monsters. When magic got to high in level, they broke into the world. Mass death is possible, but many rather drive people insane or slowly eat away at them, as they ‘feed’ on suffering. Being Marked is a Very Bad Thing. Being sloppy in spellcasting or even thinking about them may get you Marked and hunted by a Horror. If you become Horror Marked you got two options: kill it or let it destroy you on its own terms. Nethermancers are perhaps the best Discipline against them, but they run a high risk of getting Marked, which is why so many of them end up evil or simply insane.
Odds are you might not know what the Earthdawn setting is. And in a way, I rather you do not, but if you do that is fine. My real motivation is to run a world around one character, yours, after playing way too much Skyrim, but not being successful in finding Skyrim RPs. So I want to do something different. Use a setting I know, many do not, and with that perhaps surprise a few due to differences in that setting.
Note this is a MASSIVE setting despite fairly simple rules. This will NOT be a casual RP! I do have some prerequisites for your character. You will be playing a human. In Barsaive, magic got to such of a high level that monsters from the astral planes called Horrors invaded. People had to lock themselves in kaers, which were usually underground complexes a community lives in, though it is not always underground. Your character, no older than 25, never seen the outside world since its been a more than 400 years since the Scourge started. The kaer your character has been living in is about to open up after all these decades, and no one knows what is outside.
Earthdawn fans will know what I am talking about. What I am hoping to find is a fan of fantasy willing to RP with one who like to be in control of the world and all the other characters in a setting that bends traditional cliches. And please, if you do not know of Earthdawn, do not cheat and look it up! I want genuine surprise not just from your character but you yourself too!
Sex at least initially will swing to the light side. Romance is certainly a possibility. As for the D&D type of class, there is a few but its not quite the same as D&D. In our out of character I will need you to tell me basically what you like to play and I'll work it in. But your character will be inexperienced. If you are familiar with Earthdawn, this is waved. Reason, again, is because Earthdawn is not D&D!
E-mail preferred, PM otherwise. Here are the rules to the game: http://bluemoonroleplaying.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=29902 And below is what I can describe about the setting.
What is motivating me to doing this?: To recreate, from the other side for someone else, the sense like playing an Elder Scrolls game for the first time. Being plopped in the middle of a fantasy world ripe for self-discovery while not hitting on all of fantasy’s cliches. Earthdawn has something for anyone who likes any of the following: exploration & discovery, political intrigue, Lovecraftian horror, or general dungeon looting.
How familiar are you with this setting / What if I know Earthdawn?: It was my favorite fantasy table-top RPG and got several of the books, though of course not all. That said, its been YEARS since I last played it and might get certain details wrong. I am a major fan of FASA and still sad they closed their doors even now. And a curious note to any Shadowrun fans out there: Earthdawn is set in the same world! I don’t know if the current holders of the game is building on FASA’s hint the Scourge will return. Yes, that means I am ignorant of Living Room Games and RedBrick’s versions of Earthdawn. Am I showing my age? Edit: I sense got the 3rd edition rules, but only a little familiar with 'recent' history.
Why underground?: The whole premise of Earthdawn is for 400 years everyone must go to hiding as Horrors rampage the world. The knowledge how to do this is given by the primary political antagonist, Thera. Called kaers, underground towns and cities with protective wards. A few, not wanting to be in debt to Thera, tried their own methods. One attempt like this ended in disaster. This will be set in the early years when exploration and rediscovery was high.
What if I want to play a non-human?: Technically you might be able to. But I still prefer your character to be young and ignorant of the world outside. Which means being locked up with a bunch of humans. What I am willing to spoil is the following. Of the eight races, Dwarves make up roughly a third of the population and are the dominate race. Humans are not the top of the social chain. Nor do all Dwarves live underground by default. Everyone speak the Dwarven language as they are the dominate race. Elves has their home, called Wyrmwood, but note if you play an elf you won’t be starting out there. Aye, I am avoiding a spoiler here. Check TVTropes if you want the spoilerage. I want to keep silent of the other races, including the traditional orks. K, not C. Oh, and there is one race unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a fantasy setting. Damn I love this setting.... Oh, and that reminds me.
How about magic?: Might as well say, “What about threads?” There is typical spellcasters in four varieties: Wizard, Elementalist, Illusionist, and Nethermancer. But as magic is so high, EVERYONE, including a bare-fisted tank of a warrior, will be using magic. Non-spellcasters that use magic are called Adepts and both go through their Disciplines via Circles. (That’s class and level to you D&D players out there) However, the game itself is very much a ‘skill’ based system. Except many of these skills are magical talents and not mundane skills.
Magic (spells, talents, and magical items) are divided into two facets: patterns and threads. Everyone are called Name-Givers because the ability to name something is by itself magical as it creates a pattern. Threads are woven into patterns to form spells, argument abilities, or unlock magical potential. It is not as complicated as it sounds and as I rather you begin as a “Level 0” something, this isn’t important early on. Oh, and if you want to use magical items, being a Weaponsmith, Troubadour (think Bard), or a human will help out a lot.
What Disciplines (classes) are there?: I don’t want to list all the core 15 of them (or the few race specific ones) as two of the 15 are, to me, spoilage for an Earthdawn newbie who wants to be awed. One will be bulky to work with. Combat classes are more specific: Swordmaster, Archer, Warrior for example. The latter should do for barbarians and monks for you D&D players. There is two rougish classes, the classic Thief and the less criminal Scout. I have the four spellcasters and two others listed above. No druids but there is a Beastmaster. Others I either don’t want to spoil (or let you play as... ugh, the human only discipline!). Its best if you tell me generically what you want to play and let me figure out which Discipline works out the best. Picking up two different Disciplines, ‘multi-classing’, is possible but is difficult.
And Clerics? Or religion in general?: There is no clerics or groups of gods in the D&D since. Rather, there is Passions. Instead of being a god of a certain group (a certain race or class) or thing (magic), these superbeings - which a few don’t even believe exists - represent activities and/or emotion. What drive people, hence their name. They are followed, not worshiped. That said, it is possible for a you to become a cleric like follower of a Passion, gaining new abilities in exchange for acting true to your Passion. You can’t start out as one though even if you follow one in spirit. Again, I rather not list them as some are huge spoilers. Including #13 that is rumored to be under the Dead Sea. No god vs. god or the generic cleric vs. hordes of undead. Horrors are bad enough.
What are these Horrors?: This is not Planescape. They reside in astral space and resemble typical Lovecraftian monsters. When magic got to high in level, they broke into the world. Mass death is possible, but many rather drive people insane or slowly eat away at them, as they ‘feed’ on suffering. Being Marked is a Very Bad Thing. Being sloppy in spellcasting or even thinking about them may get you Marked and hunted by a Horror. If you become Horror Marked you got two options: kill it or let it destroy you on its own terms. Nethermancers are perhaps the best Discipline against them, but they run a high risk of getting Marked, which is why so many of them end up evil or simply insane.
