"Canonicity" of ED2

[Marzhin]

I was wondering what was the status of the material published by Living Room for Earthdawn 2nd Edition. I know that story-wise ED4 "retcons" ED2, but what about the new Disciplines, creatures and Horrors? Are they still part of the Earthdawn canon, or shall I consider that ED2 basically never existed?
I'm asking because I remember that Scourge Unending, despite some astonishingly bad artwork, actually had some interesting ideas for new Horrors and constructs.

[Tattered Rags]

I can't provide an official response, but I can point out that there are plenty of things out there that ancient Legends speak of, things hidden in the deep or Horrors that stalk the land leaving tattered remnants of stories. These monstrosities may never find their way into the "official" history records in the Library of Throal, but the wayward adventurer would do well to pay heed to that mad librarian in the decrepit tower. His writings and books are insane, but truths that shatter a man's soul are still truths.

[etherial]

I was wondering what was the status of the material published by Living Room for Earthdawn 2nd Edition. I know that story-wise ED4 "retcons" ED2, but what about the new Disciplines, creatures and Horrors? Are they still part of the Earthdawn canon, or shall I consider that ED2 basically never existed?
I'm asking because I remember that Scourge Unending, despite some astonishingly bad artwork, actually had some interesting ideas for new Horrors and constructs.

It's your Barsaive. My players just encountered mollusk Invae that are attempting to achieve perfection through iterative xenomorphism.

[Tattered Rags]

It's your Barsaive. My players just encountered mollusk Invae that are attempting to achieve perfection through iterative xenomorphism.

Your players are scary.

[Marzhin]

My players just encountered mollusk Invae that are attempting to achieve perfection through iterative xenomorphism.

Why do I see Fallout 3's mirelurks when I read this?

(to clarify I know that crabs are not mollusks, it's just a weird association my brain did for some reason)

[Mataxes]

I was wondering what was the status of the material published by Living Room for Earthdawn 2nd Edition. I know that story-wise ED4 "retcons" ED2, but what about the new Disciplines, creatures and Horrors? Are they still part of the Earthdawn canon, or shall I consider that ED2 basically never existed?

I would say that unless something in the current edition directly contradicts something from ED2, there is room of the other stuff. So... at the moment that mainly relates to how the timeline unfolds. Events as described in Barsaive at War and Scourge Unending didn't happen the way they are described in that book. (Indeed, nothing in the latter book has happened.) That doesn't necessarily mean characters, creatures, or the like aren't around.

Obviously, anything from ED2 would need to be tweaked/updated to fit the current rule set. It's been a while since I've looked at anything from ED2, and I can't think of anything offhand that I think needs to be updated. So... it's as "official" as anything else from earlier editions.

But -- as I've said before -- it's your game. Feel free to bend, fold, spindle, or mutilate to suit your needs. If something from ED2 caught your imagination and you want to go with it, then feel free.

[Marzhin]

OK, thanks Mataxes

[Mataxes]

Obviously, anything from ED2 would need to be tweaked/updated to fit the current rule set. It's been a while since I've looked at anything from ED2, and I can't think of anything offhand that I think needs to be updated. So... it's as "official" as anything else from earlier editions.

As a point of clarification, I realize there are things in ED2 that aren't in ED4 and would need to be updated to work properly.

My use of "need" there was more in the sense of, "There's nothing from ED2 that we need to update as soon as possible.[/]" There's not much in ED2 that captured my imagination to the point it still has a grip now, years later.

[saryakan]

Yeah, the old difficulty when dealing with 'canon' in PnP RPGs.
You always build on a basic foundation provided by the authors, but ultimately it's you as a GM who decides on what the world is or is not. Or rather you and your group, as I subscribe heavily to the cooperative storytelling philosophy...

That said I can totally understand the desire to not go against canon.
Canon is the basis for what makes Earthdawn itself and what makes it possible for people outside of your gaming group to have shared experiences and discussions with you.

A good example where deviating too much from canon can be bad:
The ex-boyfriend of my sister claimed to have played "Das Schwarze Auge/The Dark Eye" when he was younger, just as I did (and basically everyone in germany who got into tabletop RPGs). Even then I couldn't find anything in his descriptions and tales of his adventures in Aventurien that bore even close resemblance to the Aventurien that I got to know and experienced, because I was in a very canon adhering group, while his basically took the rules, the map and then made up the rest of the world themself.
This was a very extreme case, especially since The Dark Eye is a system where the world is overly extensive in detailing and describing the world, but it still shows how canon can be an important thing.

As with so many things the challenge in life simply is to find the right balance.

[Penagain]

My use of "need" there was more in the sense of, "There's nothing from ED2 that we need to update as soon as possible.[/]" There's not much in ED2 that captured my imagination to the point it still has a grip now, years later.

There were some really questionable vampires. That was always the ED2 thing that most jumped at me as needing to be addressed.

But in a post-Shadowrun-connectivity version of the universe, maybe they are now less-questionable.