/ The Introduction / Materials
Needed / Overview of Contents / The
Products /
These pages hold the key to a new world, a world of magic, danger and
legend. Welcome to the world of Earthdawn. Welcome to the Age of Legend.
These pages provide everything you need to play your first adventure in
Earthdawn: a description of the world of Earthdawn, a brief explanation
of the rules of the game, descriptions of the characters who take part in
the adventure, and a short adventure called "The Kaer of Tardim."
In this story, a group of four adventurers volunteer to enter the kaer of
the village of Tardim to learn how Strathem, the village wizard, was killed,
and to rid the kaer of whatever danger lurks within it.
These pages allow you to play your first adventure in Earthdawn before
you decide to purchase the game. This sneak preview offers you a taste
of the fantastic Earthdawn adventures that await you and your friends.
What is Earthdawn?
Earthdawn is a roleplaying game. Like many other roleplaying games of
this type, it was designed to be open-ended. That is, there is no definitive
ending to the game, no preset time limit or number of turns of play, and
no single goal to reach that indicates the end of the game. The object of
the game is to have fun while exercising your imagination. When this happens,
everybody wins.
Earthdawn:
The Age of Legend
In an ancient age of magic, heroes re-explore their world, hoping to
reclaim it from the devastation wrought by the centuries-long Scourge. At
long last emerging from self-imposed imprisonment in underground shelters,
humanity must also fight remnants of the Scourge known as the Horrors, creatures
from astral space that have ravaged the earth.
At the center of the province of Barsaive lies the dwarven Kingdom of Throal,
which has united the peoples of Barsaive since the days of the Scourge.
At one time the communities of Barsaive each huddled alone in fear; the
dwarves of Throal brought them together by re-establishing trade and commerce
throughout the land. Now elves, trolls, orks, and dwarves work together
to rebuild the land that is their home.
Far to the southwest of Throal is the great Theran Empire. Before the Scourge,
Barsaive was a province of the Theran Empire, self-governed, but still under
its domain. Barsaive declared its independence from Thera at the end of
the Scourge, setting a new order against the Empire's rule of slavery and
oppression.
This is the setting of Earthdawn. The people of Barsaive must fight to reclaim
their world from the last vestiges of the Scourge and protect themselves
from the flying armada of the Theran Empire, which waits to re-conquer the
land that it once ruled.
What you need to play
If you've never role played before, this is the place to start.
Materials Needed-
In addition to these Web pages, each player will need a separate sheet
of paper, a pencil or pen, and six different types of dice. These are 4-sided,
6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, and 20-sided dice, available at most
game or hobby stores. The game runs faster when each player has his own
set of dice, but the players can easily share one set.
The Gamemaster-
The first decision your gaming group has to make is who will be the gamemaster.
Because you are the one reading this, you will probably be the gamemaster.
If you haven't already, you'll need to gather together up to four friends
in order to play this adventure. Let them all read the first two sections
of this site, so that they learn the rules and understand a little about
the world of Earthdawn. Don't let the players read the Adventure pages;
that would spoil the game for them.
Characters-
Once you've decided on the gamemaster, the other players choose their
characters from the following four:
- Thom Hammerblade, a dwarf weaponsmith,
- Ardis Foarr, a human wizard,
- Me'gana, an elven swordmaster, and
- Targ Boneslicer, a troll sky raider.
It doesn't matter which character each player chooses, because they all
play an important role in the adventure. Each player also needs the character's
game statistics, so that he or she can refer to them during the game.
The players can copy the character's statistics onto a separate piece of
paper; if they have extra copies of the page describing their character,
they can simply use that as their character sheet.
Overview
We've broken this sneak preview into several Web pages, to make it easier
for you to read online and also to print out (which is okay by us, just
don't go selling it anywhere!) If you want, you can jump right on in by
clicking on the links to each section. We really think it would be better,
though, if you read through all the Web pages in order. At the end of each
page will be a link to the next page.
This section gives you a streamlined version of the Earthdawn rules.
- Character Statistics: Describes the basic building blocks
of an Earthdawn character.
- Step Numbers and Action Dice: Explains how a character's
Attributes, talents, and skills are measured and how actions are resolved
in the game by dice rolls.
- Talent and Skill Descriptions: Describes the specific talents
and skills used in this adventure.
- Spellcasting: Explains how spellcasting works in Earthdawn
and describes the specific spells known to Ardis Foarr, the wizard in this
adventure.
- Combat Rules: How actions and dice rolls are resolved.
- Karma Points: Explains the building blocks for character
growth and improvement.
This section introduces you to the four brave characters who undertake
this adventure. Each player chooses one character to play.
- Thom Hammerblade, a dwarf weaponsmith,
- Ardis Foarr, a human wizard,
- Me'gana, an elven swordmaster, and
- Targ Boneslicer, a troll sky raider.
This section gives the gamemaster all the information he or she needs
to know to run the adventure.
- Adventure Background: Explains how and why the village wizard
was killed, and sets up the rest of the adventure.
- Plot Synopsis: Describes the most likely series of events
in the adventure.
- Ending the Adventure: Allows you, the GM, to conclude the
story.
The Products
When you've played this adventure and decided you want to try out the
full Earthdawn system, check out these Earthdawn products to make it even
more fun!
Earthdawn-
Earthdawn is a softcover rulebook detailing everything players and gamemasters
need to begin their adventures in the fascinating world of Earthdawn. The
book features several pages of color plates showing all the different Disciplines
and races available to players, as well as many of the supernatural creatures
which inhabit the world.
Earthdawn Gamemaster Pack-
This package provides everything a gamemaster needs to run an Earthdawn
campaign. The Gamemaster Pack includes a Gamemaster Screen with all the
necessary charts and tables, sheets of Treasure Cards, a booklet featuring
a full-length adventure, and guidelines for gamemasters setting up campaigns
in Earthdawn.
Barsaive Campaign Set-
The Earthdawn campaign is set in Barsaive, former province of the Theran
Empire, now governed by the dwarven Kingdom of Throal. The boundaries of
Barsaive will produce the new heroic legends. The expanses of this land
await brave adventurers, adventurers who will re-explore the world and discover
new wonders beyond imagination.
This boxed set presents the province of Barsaive to players and gamemasters.
Included for players are a poster-size map of Barsaive; a die-cut sextant
tool for use with the map; a guidebook to Barsaive which provides all the
information players and gamemasters need to begin exploring the lands of
Barsaive; and more. This set also includes a 32-page gamemaster book full
of legends, characters, and other information that will allow gamemasters
to present a fully realized campaign setting to their players.
The Longing Ring-
The first of a trilogy of Earthdawn novels by Christopher Kubasik. Young,
mute, and considered odd by the members of his village, J'Role sets out
to explore what remains of his world after the Scourge. He soon learns that
the events of his life mirror those in the world around him.
AND ON TO THE RULES !
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Earthdawn is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. All Rights
Reserved.
Entire contents Copyright 1998 FASA Corporation