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Black Jester
2018-01-10, 07:21 AM
Boring, skippable Foreword:
So, Earthdawn. A classic setting that easily explains many typical elements of dungeoneering and adventuring in a fantasy context, provides interesting ideas, great sorucebooks, some of the most fun player races for any game.
And utterly horrible rule mechanisms.
Now, I like Eartdawn as a Setting as much as I cannot stand the steps and different dice rule system. This is somewhat of a problem. To address this, the following: converting the Setting of Barsaive et al. to the D&D rule set.

Earthdawn conversions of the past have already show na way of how-not-to-do-this, with the almost one to one conversion of Earthdawn to Savage Worlds, including pretty much all adept powers in the new game, without keeping in mind how the original game worked. The result was a massive rules bloat. That is not what I want.
I want a simple game using Earthdawn themes and setting, in combination with the much more streamlined and elegant D&D 5e rules. I don't want to convert every single thing that is in Earthdawn and I am much more interested in transporting the spirit of the setting than the methodology or (shudder) any of the rules.

So, let's begin, shall we?

Adepts
Player Characters in Earthdawn belong to a small circle of people born with innate magical abilities, so-called Adepts. Adepts may use this magic to learn spells and become followers of one of the spellcasting traditions, or they embrace their supernatural abilities to enhance and improve their own abilities and capabilities beyond the ordinary. It is never quite clear how large the share of Adepts are among the overall populace, but for the most part, adepts are quite rare and thus exceptional individuals.
Adepts gain a few privileges and powers over ordinary people:

Adepts are the only characters who can attune magical items. Ordinary folk can use minor items (which are actually not particularly uncommon in Barsaive and even less so in Thera), but full attunement is the privilege of the magical elite.
Adepts can perform Karma Rituals to grant themselves access to Inspiration. Such a Ritual takes one hour and cannot be performed again until the Adept has completed a long rest. The form of the Ritual differs from tradition to tradition; while fighters could perform a sword dance and fight against imaginary foes, others might meditate or perform their craft. Having performed a Karma Ritual within the last 24 hours is the prerequisite for any character to gain and use Inspiration. The ritual itself does not provide Inspiration per se, but creates the opportunity to attain and use it, using the normal rules.
Adepts are supernaturally resilient. They may add half their Proficiency Bonus (rounded down) to any Saving Throw that does not already include their Proficiency Bonus.
Only adepts can learn how to cast spells. Spellcasting classes or subtypes such as the Eldritch Knight require a character to be an Adept.
Adepts can instinctively use the Earth Magic surrounding them to heal themselves; as such they are not affected by the 'gritty realism rules for Resting (DMG p. 267), unlike ordinary people. They do, however, have to use slow natural healing rules (DMG p. 267), because otherwise it would probably break the system.


Your character in an Earthdawn game is going to be an Adept.

The lore of Earthdawn casts all player characters as these almost superhuman, highly talented and powerful individuals with mystic powers. This works quite well in either system but to keep the D&D system intact and not add needless baggage and the almost inevitable power creep to the mix, I decided to make the adept powers being closer to the default D&D characters and then reduce the options and powers for non-Adepts to underline how outstanding these PCs are actually going to be without breaking bound accuracy or other concepts of game balancing.


All characters in Earthdawn, adept or not however, need to learn to perform a certain acvt of art or create something artistic; in the past, this was a necessary part to provide evidence that the character was not inflicted by a demon and therefore still able to create something harmonious; in the years since then, the creation of artworks has become a part of greeting rituals all around Barsaive, while still providiung the basic evidence that the character is not corrupted. Therefore, every character gains an additional proficiency in an Artisan Tool set or Music Instrument of his or her choice in addition to the proficiencies provided by their race, class and background. This competence is just an essential part of the setting.
In a traditional Earthdawn game, spellcasters are obligated to take proficiency in tailor tools, as complex patterns on their robes were an essential form of protection against the attention of demons or other dangerous denizens of the astral space. In a more relaxed way of handling the background, the necessity of robe embroidery can easily be played down.

Black Jester
2018-01-10, 08:03 AM
Namegivers of Barsaive, Part I: Familiar Faces
The term 'Namegivers' obviously describe the ability to actually grant a name (more than a term, a true name is a magical fixation of a thing's nature) to a thing or person. In Earthdawn, names are important. However, the term also means 'Player Races (and Dragons)', and thus, the following post includes the various races playable in an Earthdawn game.
For better readability, there will be three posts about Player race options: One dealing with conversions and characters from the PHB, one dealing with newly created races, and one discussing unusual or unfitting options.

Dwarves
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sOwKUdtl9_c/UEWIiy8mwZI/AAAAAAAABB0/hXNZU93TM8c/s1600/Earthdawn+Dwarf+1.jpg
As the most numerous Namegivers in Barsaive, dwarves show a larger diversity in culture trhan most other namegiver races, despite an apparent homogenity in customs, rituals and languages. Both Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves fit reasonably well into Earthdawn deriving from different backgrounds and places around Barsaive: Hill Dwarves being the more common dwarves who live close to ther namegivers and throughout Barsaive, while Mountain dwarves are more isolated and ssometimes even prefer to keep it that way.
However, there is an additional subtype for dwarves who originate in the dwarven kingdom of Throal, those dwarves who feel and feel obligated to act as if they are the single most important pillar of lore, technology and civilisation itself.

Dwarf, Throalian
As citizens of the major kingdom of Barsaive, and keepers of lore and wisdom from the era before the scourge, the dwarves of Throal played an essential role in the reclamation of the lands after the Caers reopened, as well as the rebuilding process and the struggle for independence from the Theran Empire. The dwarves of Throal are immensely proud of these achievements, which can make them appear haughty and arrogant at times.

Attribute Adjustment: Increase the character's Intelligence or Charisma by one point.
Keepers of the Word: You gain proficiency in any one intelligence- or Wisdom-based skill of your choice, as well as any one set of Artisan tools.



Elves
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/earthdawn/images/4/4d/Alachia.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110803193112
The Elves of Barsaive differ a bit from more traditional D&D elves and thus use the following, slightly different stats and abilities. The Blood Elves use the same abilities as High Elves in the PHB, but are not suited for player characters. At all. You have to remember: In Earthdawn, the most special of all special Elves screwed up so bad that they wake up every morning covered in the scabs of their own dried blood.
[
I]Ability Score Increase. [/I]Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma Score increases by 1.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claim s adulthood and an adult name around the age of 30 and can live to be over a thousand years old.
Size. Elves range from 6 to almost feet tall; most are larger than men. However, due to their slender builds, Elves are usually significantly lighter than a human of the same size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Darkvision. Accustom ed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Empathic: You gain proficiency in the Insight skill.
Keen Ears. The Sensitivity of the pointed ears of the Elves are legendary. You have advantage on all Wisdom (Perception) Rolls based around your auditory sense.
The Wheel and the Path: As a creature of great life expectancy, most Elves are supposed to follow more than one path of training and philosophy during their long lives, and sometimes change rather radically. You do not have to fulfill any multiclassing prerequisites if you choose another class.
Life-Long Training: The long adolescence of the Elves grant them an unusual long time to improve their skills and capabilities. You can choose an additional skill from your first class' skill list, as well as any one musical instrument or gaming set; you gain proficiency with these picks.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Throalic (Common/Dwarvish) and Sperethiel (Elvish).



Humans
http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/113624/human.jpg
Humans, especially human adepts in Earthdawn are uniquely versatile and adaptable. Use the stats variant humans when creating a human character from Barsaive to reflect the adaptability and flexibility of the human race. For once, humans in Earthdawn are not the dominant, most common species; dwarves are. Humans are more like the sad little cousins that have no real special talents. Humans are, however, among the most diverse Namegivers. I am not going to include all the described human cultures/tribes as subspecies, but may include a few as backgrounds.

Orcs
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/28/81/ab/2881abe864094a9e8fdb2b1c1002d4ee.jpg
Orks are downtrodden masses of Erathdawn. They were enslaved for the longest time, their great kingdom of Old destroyed (if I remember correctly, rebuilding it was a major campaign or at least a cornerstone of the old Earthdawn metaplot) and they were screwed over in the stats department.
While there are no such things as half-orcs in Earthdawn, the stats of the Half-Orc player race fits the Barsaivian Orcs well enough, with one exception: The typical Orkish rider and horseman is more likely to be trained in Animal Handling than Intimidation. During character creation, you can choose proficiency in either skill.

Black Jester
2018-01-10, 08:53 AM
Namegivers of Barsaive, Part II: Newcomers
The artwork is originally from the first edition Earthdawn Core Book by Fasa.
Obsidiman
http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/113625/obsidiman.jpg
Obsidimen are tall, powerful creatures, towering over all namegivers except trolls. Their craggy, grey skin resembles stone and even their blood is blue-grey. Some Obsidimen even feature veins of semi-precious stone running through their skin. Obsidimen have no hair, sex or gender and their ears are completely internal and covered by a thin membrane. Their strength and endurance is legendary, but even though they resemble nothing as much as an earth elemental, they are creatures of flesh and blood, with all the passions and apetites that includes.
Obsidimen are creatures of the great outdoors; they start to shutdown and enter a state of hibernation when they stay underground for too long. Obsidimen mature physically by the end of their first century of life. Natural life span has yet to be determined because as they age, obsidimen spend more time attached to their Liferock, the largest source of stone within four hours' walk of their birthplace. These liferocks form the centre of Obsidimen culture and are simply home; Obsidimen originating from the same lifestock form a family, just like a clan of dwarves or humans. Obsidimen can merge with their lifestones for years, if not decades in a state of dream-like hibernation.


Attribute Adjustment: Your Strength Score increases by three points, your Constitution by one. You also suffer a -1 penalty to your Dexterity.
Age: The maximum age of Obsidimen has yet to be determined, because as they age, obsidimen spend more time attached to their Liferock, the largest source of stone within four hours’ walk of their birthplace. They may remain attached to the Liferock for decades, showing no signs of being aware of their surroundings, then emerge again in a time of crisis. In one indication of obsidimen life-span, dwarf records show that individual obsidimen have traveled and lived away from their Liferock for at least 500 years after reaching maturity.
Size: You are between 7 and 8 foot tall and easily outweigh any other namegiver races, due to a very high body density and a generally more squat built than most humanoids. The average Obsidiman weighs around 900 pounds. You are a medium creature.
Speed: Obsidimen have a base speed of 25 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Powerful Built: Obsidimen characters count as one size category larger when determining their carrying capacity, and the weight, they can lift, pull or push. Opbsidimen also have an advantage on all rolls to be pushed or knocked prone.
Skin of Stone: Obsidimen cannot wear any armor (except shields) not made from living materials. However, their tough and stonelike skin grants them a natural AC of 14+ Dexterity Modifier.
Stone's Endurance. You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a dl2. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Languages: You can speak and read Obsidiman and Throalic (Common/Dwarven)


Trolls
http://wiki.storygames.kr/_media/earthdawn/troll.jpg
The tall and towering trolls are the largest (but not necessarily the heaviest) of the namegivers. For many human or dwarf, the sheer size of a troll is already intimidating. Combined with a highly passionate and sometimes aggressive nature, trolls are often seen as fierce, volatile and violent. They are, however, much more than that. Trolls live in a world, where everything is made for children - and dangerously fragile and squishy children at that. Buildings, tools, meals, everything around them seems to be made and meant for something else. Is it then too surprising that dealing with other namegivers is a frustrating experience for most trolls.
Trolls form close-nit clans were they can. They are passionate, loyal and literally larger than life characters. They share the tusks of Orks (sometimes regarded as the Troll's little brothers), and the sheer mass of the Obsidimen (the calm and collected big brothers of Trollish lore) but have a few unique features of their own: Trolls have horns that grow during their whole life and can be formed with spells or specific technique to form impressive headdresses. Their skin includes patches of hardened keratin, called troltelia, that grants them a rough and sometimes uneven look.
There are two major troll cultures in Barsaive: The more adapted and 'civilized' lowland trolls, who live close-by to other namegiver races, and the more fierce and 'barbaric' highlander trolls.

Your Troll character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Age. Trolls reach adulthood at age 14 to 15 and live up to 60 years.
Size. Trolls are between 6 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Troll Endurance: You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Trollish and Throalic (Common/Dwarven).
Subtype: There are two available subtypes for Trolls: Highland Trolls and Lowland Trolls



Troll, Highland
The Trolls of the mountains and Highlands are often synonymous with the infamous Crystal Raiders.

Ability Score Adjustment: You gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution Score
Mountain Born. You're acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You're also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Sky-Lords: You gain proficiency in Vehicles (air)



Trolls, Lowland

Ability Score Adjustment: You gain a +1 bonus to your Charisma Score
Enduring: Lowland Trolls are used to hard, often straining labour. You can regenerate one (additional) level of exhaustion during a long or short rest. Once you have used this power, you have to complete a long rest before you can use it again.



T'Skrang
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/rollenspielkampagne/images/5/52/Earthdawn_T%27skrang_8.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140205104855&path-prefix=de
The T'Skrang are a reptiloid race with an affinity for living in or near the water, and a flair for the dramatic. The color of their scales range from from verdant green to green-yellow or green-blue, with aqua-blue and sunset-red variants. They have long and agile tails and a characterisitc crest. T'Skrang are warm-blooded, lay eggs and form matriarchal societies, often focused on local clusters, such as a village or the crew of a larger river boat. There are several important T'skrang cultures in Barsaive, but the River folk of the mighty Serpent River is by far the most common and form the image other namegivers have of the T'Skrang: dashing, overtly flamboyant lizardmen with an affinity for high drama and posturing. Needless to say, many T'skrang find other namegivers often a bit boring.

Your T'skrang character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. The attribute bonuses of T'skrang are solely defined by their subtype
Age. T'Skrang reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years. The oldest known T'skrang claimed to be 184 years old, but that was probably a massive exageration.
Size. Tskrang are a little lither but taller than humans, and their colorful frills make them appear even larger. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Courageous: T'Skrang have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Tail Swing: Your long tail is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. You can make a Tail Swing attack on your turn as a bonus action.
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.
Languages: You are able to write, speak and read Throalic and T'Skrang
Subtype: There are three Subtypes of T'Skrang. Choose One.


Riverfolk
The T'Skrang of the great Snake River are by far the most common representatives of their people and define the culture, as well as the definition of panache and audacity.

Ability Score Bonus: Riverfolk T'skrang gain a +1 bonus to their Dexterity and a +2 Bonus to their Charisma
Boatsmen: You gain familiarity with vehicles(Water) and either Woodcrafter Tools, Navigator Tools or Cartographer's Tools
Rakish Charme: You gain training in two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Athletics Persuasion or Performance



Jungle T'skrang
The T'Skrang of the jungles are significantly more primitive than most namegivers of Barsaive.

Ability Score Bonus: Jungle T'skrang gain a +1 bonus to their Dexterity and a +2 Bonus to their Constitution.
Cunning Artisan. As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or ld4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as leatherworker's tools.
Hunter's Lore. You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.


K'stulaami (Winged T'sKrang)
The rare mutation of the K'stulaami have a patagia that allow them to glide. While they are not capable of true Flight, they can glide for remarkable long distances

Ability Score Bonus: Winged T'skrang gain a +2 bonus to their Dexterity and a +1 Bonus to their Charisma
Gliding: To use this ability, the K'stulaami has to jump from a sufficient height; per 10' of Height, the character can glide for 30' if he wears no medium or heavy armor and is unencumbered. While gliding, the K'stulaami has a Flight Speed of 30'.
Slow Fall: K'Stulaami have Resistance to Falling damage.
Acrobats: Even without flying, the winged T'skrang are highly acrobatic and flexible. You gain proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.


Windlings
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/65/a5/25/65a525967db38c9b353c2e11cfa8092d.jpg
Windlings are tiny, winged humanoids, resembling nothing as much as a one and a half foot tall Elf with dragonfly wings. Their culture is highly dynamic and constantly in a state of flux, easily adapting customs and ideas from other namegivers and abanodinign these just as quick. Likewise, Windlings as individuals are volatile, extrovert and hyperactive. Despite their sometimes child-like enthusiasm and curiosity, adult Windlings are mature namegivers and are fully able to feel desperation, fear and sorrow like any other sapient creature. Their small size compared to anyone else also forces them to be careful and quite cautious, as even a simple accident of a human or dwarf could severely hurt a Windling, especially on their vulnerable wings.


Ability Score Adjustment: You gain a +2 Bonus to your Dexterity and Charisma, but also a -2 penalty to your Strength.
Size. Windlings resemble tiny elves. Windlings are small, winged creatures. They average 18 inches in height and weigh an average of 13 pounds. Your size is Tiny.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 15 feet. Your fly speed is 40 feet
Windling Flight: While being unencumbered and wearing no armour, you have a Flight Speed of 40'. While being able to fly, Flight is never a Windling's main method of transport and they tire quickly. Every 20 minutes of Flight, the Windling must make a Constitution Save or gain one level of Fatigue. After two hours of constant flight, these Saves are made at Disadvantage.
Astral Vision: You are a naturally magic creature and can perceive magic around you. You can cast Detect Magic at will.
Keen Senses: You gain proficiency in the perception skill.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Throalic and Wind-Tongue

Black Jester
2018-01-10, 03:25 PM
Namegivers of Barsaive, part III: Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film

The number og Namegiver races in Barsaive are quite limited and in a traidtional or purist Earthdawn campaign, that's it (well, there are some more exotic creatures in far-away lands, but seriously why bother with the jubruq?). However, the following posts discusses how you could possibly include other D&D species in an Earthdawn setting campaign. The easy solution (and the canon one at that) is: Don't. The more complex one is "My [halfling] character comes from a very distant corner of the Theran Empire, before I was brought to X as a slave and ran away" (this story can be used for any character, by the way). The version that actually requires effort is to create an opening for such a character by expanding the background of the setting carefully to avoid breaking anything nice or important.

Halflings and Gnomes: Halflings (or an equivalent to them) are probably the largest ommisision for an Earthdawn game. There are literally no dextrous, small player characters except Windlings and Windlings are well, special.There is a ecologic niche between dwarves and tiny flying annoyances, and besides, halflings are supposedly beloved character types, or so I 've heard. So, what can you do to play a halfling or something comparable? By introducing diminutive dwarves

Diminutive Dwarves
Sometimes since the Scourge, some dwarf children do not fully develop the usual mass and size of their brethren but remian rather small and child-like in their physiognomy. The dwarves learnt to adapt and integrate their smaller children - during the horrors of the Scourge, every healthy child was a marvel - and while such a small person might be a curiosity, they never where particularly extraordinary. Diminutive dwarves are a subtype of dwarves that occur in almost all dwarven settlements.
Your diminutive dwarf uses the following abilities:

Attribute Adjustment: Increase the character's Dexterity by two points.
Diminutive: Even for a Dwarf, you are quite small. With an average size between 3 and 4 foot, and an average weight about 50 pounds, you count as a small creature.
Nimbleness: You are quick on your feet and thus can move through the space of any creature that is at least one size larger than yours.


Dragonborn: Earthdawn already has reptiloid humanoids, only with charme, style and flamboyance, making Dragonborn even more superfluous and dull than most settings, if only by comparison. You could probably justify a Dragonborn character as some sort of T'skrang throwback to a more draconid past, but Earthdawn dragons are exclusive of the firey breath variant, so you have no choice when it comes to breath weapon element or resistances.

Gnomes: See Halflings. Or if you insist on playing a small, plucky annoyance and/or comic relief character, you can step up from gnome to Windling! At least the same level of 'humerous' relief, withg the added bonus that you are a lot harder to catch.

Half-Elves: There are no Half-species in Earthdawn, as the different namegivers are unable to interbreed, at least in a strictly canon game. You can choose to ignore this and simply include Half-Elves nonetheless of course, bur you could probably also include a character using half-elf traits as a elf from a different community than the ordinary elves.

Half-Orcs: AS mentioned in the first post about namegivers, I use the stats and traits of half-orrcs to create Barsaivian orc characters. Again, there are no halfbreeds in this setting by default.

Tiefling: A character infused with the heritage of a demon (or horror) in Earthdawn is not a slightly exotic character with some odd skin colour and a probably immensely impractical tail; it is a monstrous abomination that belongs dead. They are called Ulk-Men and are strange and exotic beasts outside of their homelands. Despite being simply the most despised sentient creature around the Ulk-men themselves are compassionate, highly social and well organised in their own family clans, even though they cannot rightly trust any outsiders. Playing such a character in an Earthdawn game is probably going to be a rather brief and miserable experience, but if you insist, it is probably manageable. However, Ulk-men are hideous but lovable monsters at best. You should probably switch the ability score bonus from Charisma to Constitution.

Black Jester
2018-01-10, 03:43 PM
Racial Ability limits
While the 5th edition ruleset of D&D does not use racial penalties to ability scores, it is a preposterous idea that a small Windling could ever be as strong as a towering, muscle-packed Troll – not necessarily on average, but certainly on the extreme: The strongest human will always be stronger than the strongest Windling only a fracture of his size and mass. As a result, we are going to use racial ability limits, indicated minimal and maximal ability scores, as indicated in the following table. Otherwise, races with more extreme measures like Windlings on the one extreme and Trolls and Obsidimen are difficult, if not outright impossible to handle.
The first score is the minimum score a character need to have to be a part of that race before any racial attribute modifiers are applied, while the second one indicates the maximum a character of that species could ever reach (at least without the use of powerful magic).



Namegiver
Strength
Dexterity
Constitution
Intelligence
Wisdom
Charisma


Dwarf
7/20
3/20
7/24
3/20
3/20
3/20


Elf
3/18
7/24
3/18
3/20
3/20
5/22


Human
3/20
3/20
3/20
3/20
3/20
3/20


Obsidiman
11/26
3/16
9/24
3/20
3/20
3/20


Ork
7/22
3/20
7/22
3/18
3/20
3/20


Troll
9/24
3/18
7/22
3/20
3/20
3/20


T'skrang
3/20
3/20
3/20
3/20
3/18
3/22


Windling
1/10
9/24
3/16
3/20
3/20
3/20

Black Jester
2018-01-11, 03:45 AM
Character Classes
In Earthdawn, Adepts all follow a Discipline, which basically is a character class with in-game justification and explanation around it to integrate the game mechanics concept into the backround of the setting. That is a nice idea, but it does not work too well most of the time. As such, a D&D powered Earthdawn game would have several options:

Use the normale D&D classes and try to maintain some Earthdawn fluff to it
Remake all Earthdawn Disciplines as Classes and keep all of the flavour (and all of the work)
A mixture of these two approaches


Now, Earthdawn has 15 basic disciplines in the core book alone, as well as 10 (? or so) in various sourcebooks, often specific for one namegiver race (who would have thought that the flying Windlings could use not one, but two classes based around flying?). That is, frankly too much work for a straight 'convert everything' approach.
Just taking all the D&D stuff and claim the work's done on the other hand doesn't work that well, either as it becomes quite difficult that way to capture the feeling of the setting.
As a result, the mixed approach - take some, add some - seems to be the best option.


Starting with the stock provided by D&D we have:


Bard: The Bard Class is called a Troubadour in Barsaive. Otherwise, the rtules do not need to change and the usual Bard Colleges are available. Fluff-wise, you should probably force the bard to always use an instrument as a spellcasting focus and add the necessary spell components to his spells, but seriously, it's not worth the effort.


Barbarian: Barbarians are relatively rare among the Namegivers of Barsaive, as the imminent rage of these warriors could possibly createvan opening that the Horrors could exploit in the past. However, the Class is most common among Trolls and Orks but works well enough, especially when adding two new Primal Paths: Crystal Raider for all your air ship piracy needs, and scorcher/ steppe raider, as a stand-in for Ork-Huns and various beast riders.


Cleric: In a traditional Earthdawn game, there are no Clerics in the classical sense. The Passions grant only relatively minor powers to their dedicated followers, so-called questors, and as such full divine-empowered spellcasting does not fit the setting in the traditional sense. I would replace Clerics with Elementalists from Earthdawn, using very similar mechanics with different elements as domains and so on.


Druid: There are no Druids in Barsaive – only Beastmasters who use similar enough capabilities, but count as Rangers in most cases. The Earthdawn Beastmaster is a difficult discipline to handle even under best circumstances, so I would definitely drop the druid for this game.

Fighter: Fighters come in different shapes and tones, represented by various forms of martial Archetypes. The main divide would be between adepts of the Warrior path, Archer Path and adepts of the Swordmaster path; both are clearly fighters but with different focuses. I think this can be solved easily with a small number of alternative class features, and archetypes.


Monk: I personally don't think that the Monk class fits that well into the Earthdawn Setting, because most of its conceptual space is already occupied by all adepts in different form. For this reason, there probably should be no monk characters in the game for now. Monks were added later in the completely necessary and really well thought-out Cathay setting expansion, but that never apealed to me that much.


Paladin: Like Clerics, a traditional Earthdawn game would not feature Paladins. A more laissez-faire approach to setting conversion would set Paladins as much dedicated and outright magical versions of fighters.

Ranger: Rangers are known as Scouts. They are a common class among Adepts. I would probably make two different Ranger types - the Scout version, based on the spell-less Ranger from UA, focusing on the martial and stealth-based aspect, and the more traditional magical active Ranger as a base for the Beast Lord.


Rogue: The second most common character class among adepts, second only to Fighters. A perfect match for the Thief Discipline.


Sorcerers: Nope. Earthdawn has its four traditional and actual flavourful spellcasters; there is no place or need for a Sorcerer. I probably would use this class mechanical base for a fitting replacement: The Earthdawn illusionist.


Warlock: Warlocks are replaced by Nethermancers and are more concerned with the spirits of the dead than traditional Warlocks in other Settings. Like Sorcerers/Elementalists, they gain a complete new set of Archetypes and a new list of spells, mostly because one of the main things about Warlocks - the pact with some sort of extradimensional creature - fits too well into the Earthdawn setting, but certainly don't belong in the hands of a player character.


Wizard: The Wizard Class is a staple among Adept Disciplines; However, due to the design space, some Wizard Schools (namely Necromancy and Illusionists) are removed to make place for the specialists, as probably a lot of elemental spells are going to be. But if there is one classs that doesn't suffer from having access to too few archetypes, it's the wizard. A fixed and remade list of spells also seems in order.

Black Jester
2018-01-11, 04:47 AM
Character Classes part II: Extant Earthdawn Disciplines

Air Sailor: A relative latecomer of the disciplines, the Air Sailor never had too much of an identity, besides "Sky Raider, without the fun piracy parts". Even their sourcebook entry on Air Sailor philosophy dealt a lot about how much these guys really, really aren't Sky Raiders. I honestly don't think that's enough to even build a class archetype on. So... Air Sailor becomes a background.


Archer: Archers are ranged combat experts, with a strong secondary focus on perception and especially vision. The Arcane Archer archetype for Fighters, probably does the trick, especially if one allows for a minor adjustment of the Fighter class.


Beastmaster: Wilderness Warriors with a Heart for Animals. Bizarrely, their most iconic ability is their talent to turn their hands into claws. Pet-based characters are always a bit difficult to handle, but I think I have a decent solution for this, using the PHB Ranger as a base and add some bits about shapechanging while allowing for multiple animal companions.


Cavalryman: All I've said about the Beastmaster equally allpies to these guys. It is kinda bad when your main feature doesn't work indoors. I think a scorcher/cavalryman archetype for the Barbarian works reasonably well, and allows for a character to work reasonably well even without a steed.


Elementalist: Spellcasters that gain their power from manipulating the basic elements. They are the most 'useful' spellcasters in my experience, knowing both a handful of damage spells and relative concrete support spells. As I mentioned above, I probably have to rebuild these guys, using the Cleric as a base.


Illusionist: Illusionists are the most social of the spellcasters, but also really specialized. They are dominating if played right, but require a lot of creativity to play well. Like the Elementalist, it's rebuilding time, this time using the Sorcerer chassis.


Nethermancer: They are the spooky ones, dealing with the dead, spirits and the like. They have a surprising large number of directly combat-oriented spells, making them a good fit for a slightly adapted Warlock conversion.


Scout: Tread softly and carry a big sword. The original hybrid discipline (half warrior, half thief), Scouts are, well scouts. They scout. I am probably going to use a spell-less Ranger for these guys, to differentiate them from the other wilderness warrior, the Beast Master. Still, these two will resemble each other a lot.


Sky Raider: Airship Viking. What else do I need to say? Airship Viking! As awesome as they are, they work perfectly as a Barbarian Archetype.


Swordmaster: The classic swashbuckler, if you prefer taunting and posturing over actual fighting. Like the Archer, a small alteration of the Fighter with a few adjustment for the most fabulous of all warriors seems in order.
No familiarity with heavy armor or Strength Saves; gains an additional combat style, access to Persuasion as a class skill, Charisma Saves and something to replace Second Wind.

Thief: Sneaky guys who like to steal stuff. In AD&D, rogues were still called thieves, and really, for the purpose of a D&D-ish RPG, these terms are basically interchangeable.


Troubadour:It's a bard. With a strong focus on social powers. I could probably design some sort of spell-less Bard, emphasizing more on the storytelling and social elements and then call it a Troubador, but I don't think the effort is justified. The D&D 5e bard works reasonably well as it is.


Warrior: The Archer might outshoot him, the Swordmaster has more firends, but the warrior is the one true fighting machine with a strong focus on being tough and hitting hard. A classic fighter.


Weaponsmith: The power multiplier. By himself, a Weaponsmith is a bit dull, but if you love to make everybody around you just a bit stronger, more effective and ungrateful for your hard work, tan the Weaponsmith is your best choice of a discipline. I have to look at the Unknown Arcana draft for the Artificer, that seemed to fit the Weaponsmith okay, but would require at least one alternative Archetype, because the whole magic gun thing doesn't fit Earthdawn at all. Probably something focused on blood magic.


Wizard: The classic spellcaster has a place. Compared to the other spellcasters, they are a bit boring though. I have found new apreciation for wizards, simply because I don't have to redesign them for an Earthdawn game. Except adjusting the spell list a bit, probably.