EARTHDAWN KICKSTARTER - FINAL PUSH

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/783548120/earthdawn-4th-edition/posts

With around 3 hours remaining, you can still jump in on this Kickstarter!! The final secret goals were revealed including a Kickstarter only adventure!!!

First, the big news: We crossed $100,000. I am awestruck. You are awesome. This means that the final stretch goal is unlocked. Everyone who has pledged for $50 or more of hardcopy books gets all the PDFs - Players Guide, GM's Guide, Companion, Travar, Elven Nations, Questors, and the GM Screen. 

We're tossing in a couple of extra goodies for the physical-books backers as well. People who pledged for either softcover or hardcover books will receive an art preview PDF, multiple pages of art slated for appearance in the books. You get to see this art well before the books are published. Hardcover backers will also receive a PDF adventure written specifically for the KS, that will not be sold or released otherwise.

You can still upgrade your pledge and get any of these rewards in the next four hours. We'll send out a survey when the KS closes for address and reward verification, and that'll give you another chance to upgrade and grab the extra goodies,. We'll also send out a notification right before we ship your pledge items, giving you one last chance to add stuff to your order.

Now, as for international shipping: AstralWanderer pointed out a clause in Kickstarter and Customs law that allows us to declare the value of the books at their manufacturing cost rather than their cover price. This means our EU backers can get softcover or hardcover books, and the stretch goal goodies, without getting soaked for massive VAT and customs duties. We'll be working with this for all EU shipping, not just the low end pledges, but bear in mind that if you have a large order, even with the value declared at manufacturing cost it may still put you over the VAT threshold. We'll have more on this as we work out the details country by country.

Thank you again for your faith and your trust. Together, we can make Earthdawn the absolute best it can be. May the Passions be with you!

Kickstarter Earthdawn - 4th edition

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/783548120/earthdawn-4th-edition

Coming down the stretch, the Companion is funded, and I'm projecting that the Elven Nations book will be funded as well.

I'm really proud to be part of the team bringing a new Earthdawn back to the states under the FASA Flag. 

791

Backers

$77,283

pledged of $10,000 goal

50

hours to go

 

$2,717 to go!!!  

 that's only $4 more per backer...

 

GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOOOOOOO 

Time Flies - Massive Update

With everything going on, time can easily lip by these days, and an entire week can go without a post. Trust me plenty has been happening. 

In RPG Superstar news the Top32 was announced...I wasn't one of them; however considering I re-submitted a very minorly tweaked item from a previous year, I'm not heart broken about it, not to mention the Earthdawn development work I'm doing, not sure I would have had enough time for RPGSS2014 beyond the first round anyway.

Earthdawn Kickstarter has crested 40k. This does mean a free GM Screen for all the physical backers I believe.

Here's Update #8
Josh here. Sorry about the silence the last couple of days, but we have all been rather busy, so apologies for that.
We have achieved our $40k stretch goal! Every backer who has pledged for a physical book (softcover or hardcover, Player's or GM's Guide) will receive a FREE GM Screen. We're trying to work out exactly what shape it will take, but right now it's looking like it will be a three-panel cardstock screen, with color art and useful tables, along with a booklet that has higher-Circle versions of the sample characters from the Player's Guide, giving gamemasters a leg up on pre-made adept opposition to throw at their players!
A clarification on the stretch goal books: As of right now, they will only be available in softcover. The stretch goal chart on the main page has been corrected. There was an internal miscommunication, so I apologize for that.
And now a word about book size. We have taken the comments and feedback on the size question and spent the last several days getting quotes and talking back and forth about the pros and cons of each.
In the end, we have decided to stay with the digest size book. It wasn't an easy decision, and we understand that some people won't be thrilled, but there is some good news that comes out of these discussions.
We are seriously looking at bumping up the production values -- full color is still out of the picture, but it looks like adding a few full-color insert pages is likely (as of this writing we're still waiting for a quote back from our printer). Whether this will simply be added in, or be unlocked as an additional stretch goal, depends on what comes back on that. (So watch this space!)
People have also been asking about previews of the art for the new edition -- especially the covers. As soon as we have something to share on that front, we will do so.
If you're interested at all in some of the previews I've posted over atwww.fasagames.com about the new edition, they are linked on the front page, but here they are in case you don't want to go digging for them.

• Preview #1

• Preview #2

• Preview #3

• Preview #4

• Preview #5

Previews are posted weekly (usually going up on Friday) over at http://blog.fasagames.com/ (and blogs about the other stuff we have in development can be found over there as well).
Once again, I would like to thank everybody who has supported us so far, it is greatly appreciated. We've got just a little bit over two weeks left to go, and while the initial surge has dropped off, we are still climbing a little bit higher every day. Please, help spread the word about the campaign, and help push us closer to those higher stretch goals.

In Judge Dredd Miniatures news, The new Judges of the World box set is available. This one is quite a deal. $45 for 8 Judges of the World, these normally run $7.50 each, so that's $60 if you bought them individually!

I started a new G+ Community for Malifaux, Malifaux - San Diego. I'm hoping to get a lot of overflow from SoCal Malifaux from the people still playing Malifaux. I also picked up more Malifaux minis, they are assembled and primed, waiting for my white top-down coat I like to do. I'm also trying a necrotic flesh color for some of the minis for the prime.

Well last bit of news, For the WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE fans, we are heading to the show tomorrow night here in San Diego. IT'S STILL not SOLD OUT!!!

• JANUARY 26. 7:00PM
  SAN DIEGO, CA
  BIRCH NORTH PARK THEATRE
  BUY TICKETS HERE

It's heeeeere - Earthdawn 4e Kickstarter

Earthdawn 4th edition Kickstarter Now what's REALLY exciting for me, with my vested interest in this whole process, is of course that after less than 12 hours, the 4th edition of Earthdawn is nearly funded. It is currently at around $7800 of the $10,000 funding goal.

A classic tabletop RPG returns. Set in the Age of Legend, heroes are needed to bring hope to a damaged world. 

What Is Earthdawn?It is the Age of Legend. For hundreds of years, the Horrors ravaged the world, a time of suffering and destruction called the Scourge. People survived, hidden away in magical underground shelters called kaers. Generations lived—and died—locked away from the stars and sky behind their wards. 

The Scourge ended a hundred years ago. The survivors, blinking in the light of the sun, opened their kaers and began to rebuild. Much has been lost and forgotten, and dangers await the unwary. There are those that conspire to seize power and dominate their fellows, and some Horrors still lurk in the darker corners of the land. 

Heroes have emerged in this new world. Some fight to protect those rebuilding their lives. Others uncover mysteries and treasures lost to the past. And some bring the light of hope to those still hiding from the darkness of the Scourge.
In Earthdawn, you take on the role of these heroes.

Play a Swordmaster, whose tongue cuts as deep as his blade. Master the powers of earth, water, and fire as an Elementalist. Use the magic of story and song as a Troubadour, entertaining and inspiring.

Beastmaster. Nethermancer. Weaponsmith. What will the legends say about you?

Earthdawn Kickstarter 4e coming soon

What's that noise? Did you hear it? It's the sound of awesome happening...

Josh Harrison originally shared:
Our #kickstarter  campaign for Earthdawn 4 has been approved, and we will be launching on Monday, January 13th. I'll be taking part in a Q&A at #rpgnet (http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat) from 8-10pm EST, with the campaign going live during (or very soon after) the chat.

Earthdawn 4e

Can't say much because of the NDA, but I'm on the dev team for the 4th edition of Earthdawn I blogged about last week! This being due to the open call which FASA Games had put out in November. There are some very cool changes we're discussing.

Earthdawn 4e Announced

PRESS RELEASE FROM FASA GAMES

FASA Games is pleased to announce Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, coming in 2014.


For the past twenty years, Earthdawn has built a loyal fan base as an original and engrossing fantasy gaming experience. As the game enters its third decade, we are taking the opportunity to update the game, revisiting the core systems to find a balance between the game’s legacy and more recent developments in game design.


We are also taking this opportunity to advance the game’s timeline. Earthdawn: Fourth Edition will be set about five years after the end of the Second Theran War. The Therans have largely been driven from the province of Barsaive. Throal has narrowly avoided civil war and has turned inward. The Denairastas clan continue their plans to dominate the province. And the Horrors, as always, lurk in the darker places, feeding on the pain, fear, and uncertainty the war left in its wake. More than ever, the world needs heroes.


In preparation for the release of the Player’s Guide and Gamemaster’s Guide—currently slated for Summer 2014 release—plans are under way for a Kickstarter campaign in early 2014 to fund the printing and new artwork for the core books.


Development is also under way on new, original sourcebooks -- the first since 2011. Currently in the works are books about the city of Travar, a closer look at the Passions and their Questors, and the elven nations outside Barsaive.


More information about upcoming releases, the Kickstarter campaign, and teasers about some of the changes in store for Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, can be found on the Earthdawn Developer’s Blog at www.fasagames.com.


ADDITIONAL POST FROM LINE DEVELOPER

So by now you have probably seen the announcement that we are working on Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, with plans to release the core books next summer. No doubt there are a lot of questions, so let's get too it.

What about the Revised Gamemaster's Guide?

The book is not going to see print. The decision to move forward with a Fourth Edition is probably the biggest decision I had to make so far as line developer. I know that people have been waiting for this book for some time, and I am sorry to disappoint them, but let me try and lay out some of my thinking.

I don't think it is any secret that the last few years have been rocky ones for the public face of Earthdawn. Revised is tied to that history, and is pretty much Third Edition with a different skin. Fourth Edition -- hopefully -- represents a fresh start with a new hand at the helm. It doesn't make much sense to rush the Revised GM Guide to press, only to announce the new edition shortly after that. Not only would this hurt sales of the book, but I don't like the image it presents.

Honestly, I didn't find any of the options to be ideal. I believe the game needs a new edition, and I think it is better to be up front about that -- even if it does mean some disappointment and bad feelings.

What about the time jump?

This is another decision that represents a step forward. When FASA closed up shop on First Edition, Barsaive at War was in early stages of development. While Living Room Games made an effort to address it in Second Edition and advance the game's timeline, RedBrick's Earthdawn Classic rolled back the timeline to before the war, and Third Edition largely maintained this state of affairs.

One of the more common criticisms of the Earthdawn game over the past few years has been the lack of development in the setting. "The War" has been hanging over the line for a while, and Fourth Edition allows us to establish a new status quo. We may revisit the war in future products, but in Fourth Edition it has happened, allowing us to explore the consequences.

More details about how the war has affected Barsaive will be the subject of future posts here.

What can we expect from Fourth Edition?

Other than the setting changes? We're currently working on going through the rules, examining the core concepts and underlying assumptions with an eye towards what works well, what doesn't work so well, and what could simply use some polish. The core dice mechanic -- the Step System -- will remain largely unchanged, and the concepts of Disciplines, talents, thread magic, and other such fundamental game concepts will also remain.

Where we are looking to improve the game is to try and simplify some of the more complex rules, at least with regard to their explanation if not in actual execution. We're also hoping to bring a bit more attention to some of the game aspects that are important to certain character concepts, but are not very well supported by either the rules or GM advice.

There will be the inevitable revisions to individual talents, or the talent selection available to individual Disciplines. Some spells and magic items will see tweaks. All of this is being done with an eye toward helping actual play. Game balance is a nebulous thing, and is a little different for every group, but it is my hope that the books will give you a good set of tools to play Earthdawn.

As with the setting changes, I'll be going into more depth over the coming weeks.

Oh, and you can expect new art.

Hence the Kickstarter campaign?

Exactly. There was new art introduced in some of the Second and Third Edition books, but there has been a lot of recycled artwork -- along with other material -- in the line, and that is another thing that will help mark a fresh start for Earthdawn. A successful Kickstarter campaign will help cover those costs.

I've been going on for a while, but I've hit the high points. If you have questions, you can post them on our forums, or email me (josh at fasagames.com). I may not be able to go into huge detail at this stage, but I will do my best to keep up with the discussion and answer the questions I can.

Earthdawn Appreciation Day 2014

So I think for Earthdawn Appreciation day this coming year, I'm going to set some more in depth constraints to the contest.

Perhaps an Circle 4 adventure, featuring a new Horror, a New Legendary Item, and a Cool location with map.

My only problem is with entrants, if I make it too harsh, then no one will want to participate for a few PDFs and a little banner. I wonder if I could get FASA Games to sweeten the deal...

Earthdawn Appreciation Day - Symbology by Matt B.

While it may be late for the contest, Dan and Matt B. wanted to enter this for Earthdawn Appreciation Day,

Symbols for the various Barsaivian Disciplines. Pretty cool idea!

Earthdawn Appreciation Day - Boons & Maladies

This is just the beginning, if you wish to join in adding to this project, send a request to me to join the Google Drive editable document.

Earthdawn BOONS & MALADIES system

This version of the The Earthdawn Boons & Flaws rule refers to the 3rd edition of Earthdawn as published by RedBrick Limited. It should work equally well with any edition with minor adjustments.

The Boons & Maladies system works with the point buy system as laid out on pgs 25-26 of the Player’s Guide. Typically you have 25 points to purchase attributes above the base attribute level. Taking flaws will grant additional points which may be spent on. It can work with rolled attributes as well, this requires maladies be taken then boons or additional attributes purchased with those points.

Note, this system is prone to abuse by munchkinism, I have tried to balance the good and bad so that the maladies grant less points than the equivalent boons. I recommend only allowing 1 of each category, this lets players have some options without heaping on multiple maladies in an area where they aren’t focused (mental maladies for melee characters or physical maladies for magicians.)

PHYSICAL BOONS

Incredible Strength (2 pts)

Feats of strength come naturally to you, you often have inspired moments in which your pure physical power is apparent.

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Strength-based check.

Amazing Agility (2 pts)

Other namegivers have always been amazed by your innate agility.

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Dexterity-based check.

Unnatural Fortitude (2 pts)

You were once bitten by a Four Step Adder, you miraculously survived.

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Toughness-based check.

Preternatural Reflexes (3 pts)

Your reflexes are like those of a cat, you find yourself reacting

If you roll any ones during an intiative check you may reroll them, once.

Sure-Footed (2 pts)

You used to spent your youth pushing the limits of your balance, seeing how fast you could run across fallen logs, slick with water and moss, across streams for the sheer joy of pushing the boundaries.

Gain a +1 bonus to any balance related skill tests.

Eyes of the Eagle

You can pick out minor details, even at great distance.

Gain a +1 bonus to any perception related checks.

Good Nightvision (2 pts - Human, Obsidiman, T’skrang, Windling)

Your nightvision is phenominal, not like an elves vision, but good for your race.

You only suffer half the penalties from low-light conditions, not full darkness.

Strong Tail (3 pts - T’skrang Only)

Your tail is very strong.

You may attach up to a Size 3 weapon to your tail instead of a Size 2 weapon. Unarmed Strikes with your tail add +1 to damage.

Hard as Nails (3 pts)

You’re tougher than others would assume.

add +2 to your Wound Threshold.

Hard to Kill (3 pts)

You’re still alive, you should have died from that fall, but you’re still alive.

add +2 to your Death Rating.

Uncanny Defense (5 pts)

You know how to avoid being hit.

+1 bonus to Physical Defense.

Sprinter (2 pts)

You’re a sprinter, you win nearly every foot race against others of your race.

When you run, you move 1 additional hex or 2 yards.

Survivor (6 pts)

You are a survivor, when death’s door opens, you run the other way.

Anytime you drop unconscious HP level. You roll an immediate recovery test.

PHYSICAL MALADIES

Lame (+3 pts)

You suffered a traumatic leg injury as a youth.

-1 movement, and Running only gives you 50% extra distance.

Wingless (+5 pts - Windling only)

Your wings were clipped, you can’t fly.

Lose your ability to fly. Reduce your Physical Defense by 3.

Overweight (+2 pts)

You’re huge, having large amounts of fat, but not muscle to carry it.

Lumbering (+2 pts)

You’re slow for your race,

Reduce your movement rate by 1.

Weak Tail (+2 pts - T’skrang Only)

Your tail is very weak.

You may only attach a Size 1 weapon to your tail; instead of a Size 2 weapon. And any unarmed attacks with your tail are considered to be with a Strength 2 steps lower.

MENTAL BOONS

Keen Perception (2 pts)

Not much gets past you.

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Perception-based check.

Stubborn as a Goat (2 pts)

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Willpower-based check.

Charming (2 pts)

You once talked your way into a position of power you weren’t qualified for.

Once per session you may spend a point of karma on any Charisma-based check.

MENTAL MALADIES

Buffoon (+3 pts)

You‘re often seen as a fool, putting your foot in your mouth more often than not.

You suffer a -1 on all Charisma based checks.

Astral Blindness (+5 pts - Windling Only)

You are not able to access the Astral Sight that others of your kind can.

You do not have ranks in the Astral Sight talent and you may never gain it from a discipline either.

Rigid (+3 pts - Human only)

You grew up disciplined. You do not have the versatility of others of your race.

You do not have access to the Versatility talent. Give up your hopes of being a Journeyman.

BACKGROUNDS

Backgrounds are exactly that, minor bonuses and skills which can be added to your character.

Accomplished Swimmer (2 pts, 1 pt for T’skrang)

You are a strong swimmer. T’skrang know of your swimming ability far and wide.

Gain a +2 bonus on swimming checks.

Blacksmith’s Apprentice (1 pt)

Before becoming an Adept, you were apprenticed to a blacksmith.

Gain 1 rank of Weaponsmithing skill.

Riverboat Crewman (1 pt)

Before becoming an Adept, you were a riverboat crewman.

Gain 1 rank of Airsailing skill.

Airman (1 pt)

You once worked passage on an airship. You learned the basics of airsailing from a mighty captain. Those lessons stayed with you.

Gain 1 rank of Airsailing skill.

Assistant Librarian (1 pt)

You were an assistant in your kaer’s library.

Gain 1 rank of research skill. If you gain the Research Talent later, you are a natural gaining a +1 bonus on research checks.

Amateur Herbalist (1 pt)

You’ve always loved herbalism, you have basic knowledge of plants and  .

Gain 1 rank of research skill. If you gain the Research Talent later, you are a natural gaining a +1 bonus on research checks.

K’Stulaami  (3 pts - T’Skrang Only)

You are K'stulaami.

Granite Skin  (3 pts - Obsidiman Only)

Obsidiman are known for their rock-like hides, you are known amongst your brethren to have the toughest hide.

You have a Physical Armor rating of 4

Crystalline Skin (4 pts - Obsidiman Only )

Unlike most obsidimen, your natural earthen hide is mostly crystal, While not as tough as some physically, your hide is resistant to mystic damage as well.

You have a Physical Armor rating of 2 and a Mystic Armor rating of 2

Elemental Skin (6 pts - Obsidiman Only )

Unlike most obsidimen, your natural earthen hide partially infused with elemental earth. You must be especially careful of Theran Slavers who would rather wear you than sell you.

You gain the Earth Skin talent at Rank 0, and may increase as normal.