Hello, all! Karol here, feeling a bit introspective as we head into a new year. For many of us, gaming slows down as family and holiday obligations ramp up around this time. I don’t want to speak for every gamer, but I know I’m itching to get back to my table and explore some new worlds. In the meantime, we can all take the opportunity to look back on what we’ve accomplished and ahead to what we hope to achieve. It’s as true for the Earthdawn line as it is for anything else in life, and our team’s definitely got a lot to be proud of and to look forward to.
Reflecting upon the previous year, the Earthdawn team accomplished some really exciting things in 2019. Earlier in the year, the release of Elven Nations fulfilled the last of FASA’s original 4th Edition Kickstarter stretch goal commitments, as well as expanding the game world and doing a deep dive into some previously unexplored areas of the 4th World. We were excited to hear the feedback on the book and loved seeing the ideas that came from it. For me personally, it was an absolute thrill to be part of a full-length Earthdawn release.
Autumn also saw the release of The Adept’s Journey: Mystic Paths, which provided some hefty new depth to character advancement with the introduction of Paths, as well as unveiling some new Disciplines to further expand character options in Barsaive and beyond. The feedback for this has been exciting as well, and we expect to hear plenty more as players really put these new character options through their paces in their home games.
But big book releases were only part of the equation. Players who made it out to Gen Con, Origins, Gary Con, or Nexus Game Fair were able to play in the next cycle of adventures in the Legends of Barsaive living campaign. These players advanced and helped shape the future of Haven as it deals with myriad mysterious threats (at tables run by us, the Legends of Barsaive team!). For those who aren’t able to get to a convention, look for adventures from this cycle to become available in print or PDF form soon.
The Earthdawn team also endeavored to expand our involvement beyond traditional print releases and convention play. Hot on the heels of Ha’Penny Pie, the extremely talented Don Higgins has been releasing Champion’s Challenge, a graphic novel following the story of a young t’skrang finding his place in the Fourth World. Champion’s Challenge is being released for free digitally on FASA Games’ site, one page at a time; it’s a very worthwhile read. Our own Josh Harrison also co-hosts the new Earthdawn Survival Guide along with his co-host, Dan Boice. The EDSG is a podcast that does a deep dive into the game’s lore and mechanics, as well as providing solid GM advice, answers to listener questions, and some fun anecdotes.
And last but not least, most of our team was able to participate in a panel discussion at Gen Con this year to interact directly with fans on some of the big questions about the game. Conveniently, the audio of this panel discussion is available through the Earthdawn Survival Guide, so check it out and subscribe for some seriously valuable knowledge about the world of Earthdawn!
This time of year is also good for planning and strategizing for the next one. Just as people may have set resolutions for 2020, the Earthdawn team has laid out a roadmap for the year ahead and making sure we’re delivering on both quality and quantity. The production end of the release process is always a hectic one, and we’re working on ways to make sure that goes as smoothly as possible for future releases. And as for those releases themselves, we’ve got a lot of exciting things lined up for the new year, and I’m happy to tease a bit of it. I don’t want to reveal too much, of course – who’d want to spoil the surprise?
The mix of book releases planned for 2020 is an exciting one. We’re going to have to remain relatively tight-lipped on this one, but the next books we’ve got in the pipeline promise to further expand readers’ understanding of the nations of the Fourth World, provide additional character options, and even introduce major events that will have consequences well beyond Barsaive’s borders. And as mentioned previously, new Legends of Barsaive material will be available in both print and PDF form, for those who want to run adventures in Haven for their home tables.
For those who want to play with us or say hello in person, our Origins and Gen Con participation is already set, and we’re working on finalizing the remainder of our 2020 convention schedule. We’ll be continuing and advancing the Legends of Barsaive living campaign (where the stakes just keep getting higher and higher for our beleaguered town of Haven). We also plan on showing off some adventures set in the newly examined areas of the Fourth World, such as the Elven Nations (and beyond!), to help explore the themes presented in that material. Come join us for a game, or just stop by the FASA booth and say howdy!
From the Earthdawn team to all of you, we want to offer our heartfelt thanks for all of your support and feedback. Here’s to celebrating a great 2019, and to further exploring all the twists and turns of the Fourth World together in 2020!