Heroes of the Fourth World old project

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Geekabilly
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Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Geekabilly » Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:54 pm

I was going through my old Earthdawn stuff and found this old project of mine, I think at the time I was trying to create an alternative, Theran- centred setting for the game. I thought I'd share.


Earthdawn
Heroes of the Fourth World
New Setting. New Heroes. New Dawn

The year is 1380 TE. Three centuries have passed since the ending of the Scourge and the Name-giver races of the Fourth Age have finally reclaimed their world. The Theran Empire, vast beyond imagination, has brought the light of civilization to each of its many Provinces, whilst large independent powers like Barsaive and the Elven Kingdoms flourish under their own dominion. The Horrors are largely gone from the world, defeated by the legendary adepts of old, but discontent and discord still threaten the peace.
The last Emperor of Thera was assassinated decades ago inside his own throne room, many sighting the mystical wrath of Jaron’s Sphinx, but many more suspecting the machinations of the Great Dragons. For the last 30 years, no Emperor has sat upon the throne of Thera and civil war amongst those who would take power is spilling over into the Provinces as warlords and nobles stake their claim. Worse yet, the Monuments of Messias, the colossal orichalcum pillars that have locked the magic level of the world into a stable cycle for centuries are beginning to crack and crumble. Their deterioration sends waves of magical cataclysm out into the Provinces and beyond, causing all manner of sorcerous phenomenon to manifest in the world, and doomsayers all across the Empire are proclaiming an end to Thera is nigh.
Into this time of chaos come the Heroes of the Fourth World, be they Adepts of the Disciplines, Questors of the Passions or the Valiant; Namegivers skilled in the non-magical arts of war and survival. These new heroes must use their combined might and magic to stabilize the world and prevent civilization from collapsing, whilst combating new and terrible threats brought about by the magical destruction of the Cataclysm.

• Global Setting: Although in decline, the Empire still spans most of the known world; from Indrisia to Brycenia to the distant colonies of Aznan and Araucania. Choose a home Province for your Hero, but be prepared to journey across the length and breadth of the mighty Theran Empire.
• Three Core Character Types: Adept, Questor & Valiant. Choose to follow a Discipline, dedicate yourself to one of the Passions or do things the old fashioned way; with nothing but grit and determination to see you through!
• Core & Provincial Name-giver Races: Choose from Dwarf, Elf, Jackalmen, Leafer, Ork, Troll and many more!
• Updated History: Role-play as a Hero of the 4th World during a time of turmoil and crisis for the Theran Empire. Three centuries of Theran dominance has shaped the histories of millions of Namegivers across the world.
• Expanded Lands: Explore the Provinces of the Empire along with powerful independent powers like Barsaive and the Elven Kingdoms. Will you hail from war-torn Barsaive where the Great Dragons rule or recently annexed Creana – the land of Pharons?


Adept, Questor or Valiant?

Broadly speaking these categories of Character type can be defined as followed: Adepts draw magic from the world’s pattern by strictly adhering to a world view and ethical system determined by one of the 15 Disciplines. Their devotion to their Discipline grants them the use of magical Talents, the ability to tap into Karma and weave magical Threads to items, people and places.
Questors devote themselves the worship and reverence of one of the Passions and seek to emulate their chosen deity in thought and deed. Usually this means of the so-called ‘Nine Passions’ most commonly venerated in Thera and the Elven Kingdoms, but many of the Provinces are home to their own pantheons of Passions. Questors draw upon unique abilities Endowments provided by the link they share with their chosen Passion.
Lastly, Skilled are ordinary Name-givers who happen to be very good at what they have chosen to pursue. Without magical enhancement from a Discipline or Passion, the Skilled may not be capable of performing supernatural feats but this also makes them immune to many of the negative effects of the Cataclysm and invisible to the creatures that feed off of magic. The Skilled usually make use of various Blood Magic abilities to enhance themselves but many simply devote themselves to fulfilling a Profession and its associated Skills.


In summary:
• An Adept follows a Discipline and draws magic in the shape of Talents, Karma and the ability to power Thread Items from their devotion to their chosen Discipline’s worldview.
• A Questor choses a Passion to worship and whose virtues they wish to emulate and spread across the world. They gain powerful Bestowments that are unique to the Passion in question.
• The Valiant are ordinary people who are extraordinarily good at their chosen Profession. They come with Skill sets and begin play with Skills at much higher proficiency that Adepts or Questors. The only magic available to them is the universal powers of Blood Magic and common enchanted items. The Valiant are a highly versatile Character type and posses the greatest level of freedom and customization in Earthdawn. Their lack of magical Talents and Bestowments is a blessing and a curse as the creatures created by the Cataclysm hunger greatly for the flesh of those who command such power.

Lursi
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Lursi » Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:39 pm

I like this.

I had a similar setting where the level of magic was such that demons or dragons could not exist anymore and people did not like adepts anymore and started hunting them down because they were too much of an individual threat to the rich and powerful.

Even without the above, a Theran Civil War is certainly a good option for the future. Playing a Theran Hero of one of their factions opens quite a field for new regional descriptions and different shades of morality... slavery of the ancient roman or greek style or the american style is quite a difference...
Of all things I lost, sanity I held dearest.

Bonhumm
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Bonhumm » Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:41 am

I really like the concept of a kinda civil war and the Empire expanding. Would like to see how stuff went on in Barsaive (you speaking of Barsaive as if it was an united power now)

I do not want to seem picky but:

- I don't see the concept of Valiant working unless you completely change the mechanics of the skills: they cost more, have a cap, and are never as powerful as their talents counterpart. Also; looking at the stats on most non-adepts NPC, we can assume non-adepts do not get the same amount of 'points' at creation for their attributes. Major disadvantages that would unbalance the game without giving anything in exchange, not even from a roleplay point of view (whatever great backstory I can came up with, none would require that I'm not an adept). That thing about 'being at an advantage against creatures that feed of magic' do not apply: as namegivers they already are the biggest source of magic in the universe: they can name stuff. Horrors sure din't care one way or another if their victims where adepts or not.

Also: Thera as no emperor, only a over governor (or something). The sphinx was made as a warning not to turn Thera into a 'real' empire.

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etherial
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by etherial » Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:31 am

Bonhumm wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:41 am
Also: Thera as no emperor, only a over governor (or something). The sphinx was made as a warning not to turn Thera into a 'real' empire.
Going by the calendar date posted, this setting is almost 400 years in the future if the standard Earthdawn setting, so a lot may have changed.

Geekabilly
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Geekabilly » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:49 pm

etherial wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:31 am
Bonhumm wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:41 am
Also: Thera as no emperor, only a over governor (or something). The sphinx was made as a warning not to turn Thera into a 'real' empire.
Going by the calendar date posted, this setting is almost 400 years in the future if the standard Earthdawn setting, so a lot may have changed.
Yeah this. I had plans at the time to write a lot of history for both Thera and the provinces. Barsaive for example was recovering from a civil war waged by the Great Dragons; on one side there was Mountain Shadow, Icewing and Dvilgaynon and on the other there was Denairastas, Aban, Alamaise and Charcoalgrin. The province was divided with an expanded Iopos ruling in the West and the Throalic Kingdom in the East, both powers at a stalemate.

I planned for the Therans to finally have an Emperor as opposed to a First Governor, I just never got around to writing up the reasons.

Geekabilly
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Geekabilly » Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:57 pm

Bonhumm wrote:
Wed Aug 22, 2018 3:41 am
I really like the concept of a kinda civil war and the Empire expanding. Would like to see how stuff went on in Barsaive (you speaking of Barsaive as if it was an united power now)

I do not want to seem picky but:

- I don't see the concept of Valiant working unless you completely change the mechanics of the skills: they cost more, have a cap, and are never as powerful as their talents counterpart. Also; looking at the stats on most non-adepts NPC, we can assume non-adepts do not get the same amount of 'points' at creation for their attributes. Major disadvantages that would unbalance the game without giving anything in exchange, not even from a roleplay point of view (whatever great backstory I can came up with, none would require that I'm not an adept). That thing about 'being at an advantage against creatures that feed of magic' do not apply: as namegivers they already are the biggest source of magic in the universe: they can name stuff. Horrors sure din't care one way or another if their victims where adepts or not.

Also: Thera as no emperor, only a over governor (or something). The sphinx was made as a warning not to turn Thera into a 'real' empire.
Yeah that's reasonable, I can't remember what my full plans for the Valiant were. Magic wise, although all Namegivers can be considered magical, it was the specific 'boost' in magical power that came with being an Adept or a Questor that the creatures hungered after. This permitted the Valiant to be somewhat invisible to this threat; their power came from their normality. I do remember making plans for Durability as a Skill where you added your rank in it to your health and your rank divided by 2 to your Wound Threshold. I had plans to expand Blood Magic a bit as this was really the only tangible form of Magic available to them, as they had neither Talents or Bestowments ( this was all conceived way before Questors).

I came up with this idea a long time ago, so it's not perfect by any measure. I think now I'm more interested in the advance of 400 years into the future and the idea of a global setting focused upon a decling Thera and it's provinces- I think there's potential there.

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Mataxes
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Re: Heroes of the Fourth World old project

Post by Mataxes » Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:29 pm

No real comments on the setting stuff, but I wish I had thought of "endowments" as a term related to Questor powers.
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