I hope the day finds everybody well! For those of you playing along at home, this is the fifth blog post I have written about our Vasgothia project. This is the first project where I have acted as lead editor and I’ve been very excited to share as much of the process as possible with you all.
In my first post, I discussed my initial talks with freelancer Nick Lowe and we began to lock down the two main themes of the project: Savagery, and alien unknowable magic. My second post discussed an exciting new culture that stands center stage to the conflicts of Vasgothia: the Barrites and how this culture interacts with the Namegivers we all know and love. The third post pulled back the curtain on the leafers and the talveni, Namegiver races new to Fourth Edition that will be fully detailed within this sourcebook. In the fourth post I went for broke and included a rough teaser for the beginning of the book. Now, I wanted to take a moment to circle the wagons, and touch on the other things that I haven’t had time enough to showcase.
While the Therans hold the fertile Lowlands and the Barrites struggle to survive in the Deep Forest, there is still more to Vasgothia. The Caralkspurs dominate the southern part of the province, and many Namegivers call the region “home.” There are numerous Theran interests in the area as the mountains are rich with natural resources–from timber to gemstones. On top of this, there is a native population known as the Bear Striders. They proudly fight alongside the Therans, organize themselves into Companies, and struggle to be accepted by an enormous Empire that has plenty to provide. The Striders are many and varied, but from the valleys of Shadow Tor to the mines of Quartz Ridge, these stalwart warriors are ready to protect life and property for those who have the coin. However, they have begun to notice their mountains are not as verdant as they once were, and some are beginning to question whether the Empire truly has their best interests at heart.
Aside from their opinions on the Theran Empire, the Bear Striders and the Barrites have much in common. Both make frequent use of a Discipline Variant rarely seen in Barsaive: the Marauder. These Marauders act as the tip of the spear when it comes to war. They are shock-infantry at their finest and excel at quick skirmishes and lightning fast raids. But only the Barrites, with their intimate knowledge of the dangers of the Deep Forest, have unlocked the secrets required of a unique path: The Avowed. These Avowed are dedicated to a road of self sacrifice so that they might mete out righteous punishment against their foes.
There are plenty of other goodies, secrets, and hints nestled away in this book and, as you might have gathered by my tone, this blog post comes with a very happy ending! The Vasgothia project will be LIVE on Kickstarter Monday, October 18th!
In a rare double-whammy campaign, you can also pick up the second volume of the Champion’s Challenge Webcomic! Sign up to follow the campaign here, and join our discord to let us know what you hope to see in this project! I hope to see you there!
About the Author: Kyle Pritchard is a second-generation tabletop gamer who has been slinging dice since before he was crawling. He’s been working with FASA Games since 2014 and has been a member of Earthdawn Team since 2018.