Magic Items

[RazanMG]

As for getting information what item does without weeks for Item History, Wizzards Identify Magic spell will be usefull. In case of thread iteams it wont be exact knowlege, but can be a solid guide.

[Dougansf]

Let me add an addendum to my prior post.

Part of my... surprise... is that in over 20 years of playing the game and talking with a wide variety of people who have played the game, I haven't ever encountered the "skip empty ranks" interpretation.

As a player since ED1, we've played with "skipping ranks" since the beginning. So all this is very enlightening.

[LouP]

Hello,

For what it's worth (and that's probably not that much), I would lean towards the "skipping ranks" interpretation. This is based primarily on the specific use of the term "Key Knowledges".

That said, I don't think either approach is "bad" or "wrong", and neither is likely to cause any serious issues in a campaign.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

[Tattered Rags]

Hello,

For what it's worth (and that's probably not that much), I would lean towards the "skipping ranks" interpretation. This is based primarily on the specific use of the term "Key Knowledges".

That said, I don't think either approach is "bad" or "wrong", and neither is likely to cause any serious issues in a campaign.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

This implies that the original ED1 design intent was the "skipping ranks" concept capped by your Item History rank. I'd be interested in knowing what the ED1 intent was, if you could share it.

[Lys]

Part of my... surprise... is that in over 20 years of playing the game and talking with a wide variety of people who have played the game, I haven't ever encountered the "skip empty ranks" interpretation. This is as after significant involvement in the online ED1 community, playtesting/consulting for ED2, work on the Classic Compendia and (to a lesser extent) ED3, and now ED4. So... coming across something new like that is a bit surprising, and I had to take a few steps back, go back to original sources, track changes from edition to edition, that sort of thing.

Huh, interesting. While i haven't been playing Earthdawn that long, two members of my group have been playing since First Edition, and they would both probably be surprised to learn of the other interpretation. This is actually not the first time i've seen what seems like a fairly straightforward piece of writing turn out to have been interpreted in completely different ways by different sections of the fandom. Given the vagaries of languages, it seems like something that's just bound to happen to any longstanding game with lots of legacy material. Vampire is a good example here, made the greater by its sizeable and widely distributed fandom. It didn't occurs to me that this might have been another such case, and i really should have known better.

[LouP]

Hello,

Hello,

For what it's worth (and that's probably not that much), I would lean towards the "skipping ranks" interpretation. This is based primarily on the specific use of the term "Key Knowledges".

That said, I don't think either approach is "bad" or "wrong", and neither is likely to cause any serious issues in a campaign.


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

This implies that the original ED1 design intent was the "skipping ranks" concept capped by your Item History rank. I'd be interested in knowing what the ED1 intent was, if you could share it.

I'd have to go back and re-read the ED1 rulebook and companion (in particular any examples of using Weapon/Item History on a thread item) to be 100% certain, but I *think* my interpretation now is what I would said then.

The intent of the Key Knowledge system is to provide a(nother) reason for characters to go out on adventures. In order for a character to get the full effect of a cool magic item, they have to go out into the world and research its history and legend (building their own legend along the way). Each Key Knowledge can lead to a different adventure, whether they be simple and small, or epic-like and earth-shattering.

This was the reason we published Blades - as an example of adventures born from researching magic items. Blades also provided a (IMO) cool example of a group magic item.

Given this intent, I think it makes sense that Weapon/Item History tests would result in information about Key Knowledges, not just thread ranks.

Does that help?


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

[Tattered Rags]

...
Does that help?


Take Care,

Lou Prosperi

Yes, thank you.