Comments on: PTG Episode 61: From Earthdawn to Blackest Night

By: Felix

Felix — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:40:33 +0000

Great comment, Aaron, and you make an excellent point about the amount of control a player has over the direction they can take a character they created and play with over time. I played two different characters in the same campaign over a decade, and being able to develop their personalities in tandem with the talents I chose for them or, in one case, the second discipline I picked up, was among the most enjoyable aspects of the game. But when compared to other fantasy RPGs, to the more casual gamer who doesn’t particularly care HOW the magic works, but rather JUST that it works, cast the spell, kill the monster and be done with it, Earthdawn’s mechanics can seem to have a steeper learning curve.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:23:59 +0000

I find it interesting that people often say the mechanics in Earthdawn are not good, and the setting is what makes it. For myself, the setting is interesting (it’s great that there’s a good reason for dungeons to have nasty monsters, in particular), But what I most like is the fact that characters are so incredibly tweakable. Between thread items, permanent spells, thread items, familiars, and of course the way talents are increased separately from leveling up, there are so many axises on which to tweak the characters that I always feel like I’m in control of the character’s growth.

By: Felix

Felix — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:49:23 +0000

Hey Seth. Thanks for the comment and for the feedback–truly appreciated!

I goofed on the URL for Josh’s website–what I meant was if you searched any search engine for “Dude’s Earthdawn Joint”, it would come up first thing. Here’s the correct URL to save you from searching. Enjoy, and hope you’ll keep listening!

http://webspace.webring.com/people/oc/c_j_howell/rightframe.html

Thanks again,

-Felix

By: Seth

Seth — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:20:34 +0000

Hi,

I listened to the podcast and have to say very cool!

What is Josh’s website again? I tried inputting the dude site and it didn’t work.

Thanks in advance.

By: Felix

Felix — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:14:03 +0000

Thank you for the clarification, and for taking the time to check out the post!

By: Joshua Harrison

Joshua Harrison — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:48:12 +0000

Just wanted to clarify a point about FASA’s history. FASA did not go through a bankruptcy — the company decided to close its doors as an active game publisher because the market was changing, and they decided to get out while the getting was good (unlike many other now defunct companies from that time).

FASA still exists as a corporation to maintain their intellectual property and trademark rights. RedBrick licenses the Earthdawn property from FASA.

– Josh Harrison
Associate Editor, RedBrick Ltd