Earthdawn
Earthdawn is a tabletop fantasy role-playing game set in a mythic Europe in which Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and other intelligent races exist and the magic level is very high.
History
The first edition was published by FASA in 1993; in 1999, FASA licensed the franchise to Living Room Games. The second edition appeared in 2001. In 2003, FASA granted another license to RedBrick LLC, who released the Earthdawn Classic Edition in 2005. A third edition followed in 2009, the Revised Edition in 2012.
- I don't know how to make sense of the game's convoluted history; sorry. --WeepingElf 07:43, 1 June 2013 (PDT)
System
The most unusual aspect of the Earthdawn game system is that the skill level indicates which type of dice is rolled in a skill roll. For instance, a skill level of 4 means that a six-sided die is used, while a skill level of 5 means that an eight-sided die is used instead.
Setting
The game world of Earthdawn is a prehistoric Europe where the power level of magic is very high. At one point, the magic level rose so high that beings from an otherworldly dimensions, the Horrors, infested Earth and forced the people of Earth into hiding in magically sealed underground cities called kaers. After 400 years, the Scourge, as the invasion of the Horrors was known, abated and the people emerged from the kaers into a much-altered world. One of the countries of this world is Barsaive (in what is now Ukraine and southern Russia), which is the main setting of Earthdawn.
The following character races exist in Earthdawn:
- Dwarves - similar to those of other games, but dominant in Barsaive.
- Elves - also similar to those of other games, very long-lived, a few are immortal.
- Humans.
- Obsidimen - large humanoid stone beings.
- Orcs - as usual.
- Trolls - as usual.
- T'skrang - lizard-like amphibian beings.
- Windlings - small, winged humanoids.
- Leafers - sapient plant beings.
- Ulkmen - tainted by Horrors.
- Jubruq - half human or orc, half elemental.
- Jackalmen - with the body of a human and the head of a jackal.
Connection to Shadowrun
Earthdawn is set in the same world as Shadowrun but many thousand years earlier. The magic level of Earthdawn, however, is much higher than that of Shadowrun.
