FASA Games, Inc.

"* The pre-layout raw text of Chapter 8: Challenges and Obstacles (which contains all the rules for stuff like falling, fire, disease, poison, and the like) and Chapter 10: Creatures will be made available to Kickstarter backers this weekend. (Look for an update Saturday March 28.)"

What about those, liked myself, who didn't sign up for the Kickstarter but backed the project via the FASA store? Is there a way we can get our hands on these preview chapters?

Sundahk, an email will be going out to the store backers in a few minutes. Sorry for the oversight.

Challenge rating is one of those things I've never been happy with, honestly, because it depends on so many variables (since each group of characters is different what's tough for one may be a pushover for another), and I think it implies a direct connection to the Legend Award a creature should give that really isn't intended in the rules.

I've been toying with the idea of changing to something like "Tier Rating" Novice/Journeyman/etc, maybe with a "low" or "high" modifier where appropriate to provide some guidance.

One challenge I have with GMing Earthdawn is picking up random encounter. Since I don't know the stats of every beast, I tend to rely on the "Legend Award" to gauge the challenge rating of a creature. But you're right Mataxes about the circles. My players are much much more powerful than the creature of the "same circle" (according to Legend Award). Mostly because of the group pattern ritual. But this is my part as a GM. As long their is something that will give me a hint on their power, it doesn't really matter if it is tied to a perticular circle or tier. As long as the rating is somewhat reliable between creatures.

And another difficulty I get is to pickup and encounter that fit the environnement and time of the day. (a cave, plains, forest, mountains, kears...)
It would be very help full that the stat block contain a section just for that.

ps: If the GM Guide comes with a chart that list every creatures with all the details mentionned above, you can bet I will make an app that would generate random encounter for Windows and most tablets (Android and iOS).

I have to admit, I am not a fan of the "random encounter"... at least in the classic AD&D "as the party is traveling through the woods, roll on this table to see what shows up to try and eat them."

I suppose for "sandbox" style play it can work... but I'm not keen on the idea that a random roll could result in an encounter that the group is ill-suited for (by virtue of being over- or under-powered).

That said, a table that presents creatures by terrain type, making it easier to find creatures that are appropriate to include in an adventure? I don't know whether there will be room in the GM Guide, but perhaps in among the tables included with the GM Screen?

The more I've thought about it, the more I'm not a fan of random encounters. The purpose of a random encounter seems to be to break up the monotony of travel between two points or while exploring an area that has nothing to offer other than something that want's to eat the characters, just because. When this is the case the adventure is just grinding gears, and the journey should be made more interesting or hand waved altogether.

Also a random encounter should be just that, random. It should be anything from a curious tribesman to a powerful Horror, and the circle of the characters should not come into it, if it does how can it be random. How the characters interact with the encounter should be up to them, though they should of course be given the chance to run for their lives