FASA Games, Inc.

Hey all,

So I'm sure over the next few weeks and months I'll be asking a lot of questions, as it's time to delve into Earthdawn 4E for the first time with a group of friends. Real quick background before getting to the question itself, I won't mind if you skip ahead:

I've always had a spot for Earthdawn. It was THE first tabletop RPG I ever played back in middle school (Earthdawn First Edition, FYI) back in like . . . '96 or '97. Granted, our DM (named Shawn) made up half the rules and such to the point that when I bought the book myself and discovered these rule changes, we dubbed his game 'Earthshawn'. Though I've moved around to many RPGs (Pathfinder and D&D, of course), Earthdawn was always my first love.
Throughout the decades since (I can say that! Holy hell!) I've always tried to get Earthdawn games going, but they're always rough, particularly since the world is so unique and concepts somewhat foreign from 'regular' RPGs. Because of this I've always kind of . . . half-assed my Earthdawn campaigns, coming up with concepts I think would be interesting, but not really 'true' to the world.
I finally buckled down and read the Earthdawn books (The Longing Ring, Mother Speaks, and Poisoned Memories. I'll be reading the rest in due time) and the universe makes a WHOLE lot more sense to me. Things I never thought about or considered are now clearer to me.
So, here I am again getting an Earthdawn campaign ready that I feel will be a good one and explore truly what Earthdawn is about and the world being more accurate. I think I understand the world a lot more now and I'm ready to put that to the test. However...

**Here's the actual question**

The Gamemaster guide does no't give an accurate way to create a village. For example, we can generally surmise most villages are from ex-kaer dwellers who set up shop outside or near their kaer (unless they fled for X reason). Magic is generally used to create / sustain crops. Forges are the heart of the village, and every village / city / town needs at least 1 Forge.

But what else, really? What are key concepts of a village in Earthdawn that you normally wouldn't consider in a 'traditional' RPG? What are the general sizes of ex-kaer dwelling villages? What other things make villages unique in the Earthdawn setting?

Hello.

Many aspects of the villages would vary depending of many factors.

First, most (if not all) will usually have a place of 'first contact' with outsiders (described in the Survival Guide page:16-17): something like a standing stone, stone circle or even a small hut build outside the village. By getting there, the outsiders announces they wishes to enter in contact with the village and the appropriate authorities will be sent to deal with the ritual of greetings (usually the use of an artisan skill to 'prove' the lack of horror taint). Directly attempting to enter a village while ignoring this could be considered an attack.

The physical location AND racial composition of the village will affect its look. Is it mostly a single race or multi-'ethnics'? A village with many Windlings might have a 'quarter' in it with (small) houses in trees while one with many T'skrang (and near water) could have parts of it underwater and/or have a dock for passing ships (see Serpent River).

Many orks and human settlements have a rich traditions with mounts (mostly horses) so will have large corrals in them. Some villages in the Liaj jungle (the Tamers) shun 'advanced technologies' like metalworking and clothing. Stumbling on a village full of naked people of any age is likely to surprise more than a player.

Some might have been set up there as support for a nearby temple (or evil cult!) or other organizations.

Are they in areas with many Scorcher tribes or near Skyraiders clans? They are more likely to have walls and other defenses. They're willingness to let outsider enter in contact with them can also vary greatly. A few might have just gone out of their Kaers very recently and think they are the worlds only survivors.

Personally, I really liked reading the first edition book 'Survival Guide', it gives a very good idea of the life 'on the road' for Barsaive. The 'nations' books (Serpent River, Cara Fahd etc) and the racial books (Denizens, especially for humans) gives good ideas of what to expect in villages and small towns.

Some adventures books centered on villages (like Infected) gives some ideas too.

This has been a thing that bugs me when ever it pops up: Villagers should not be wimpy. If they are surviving scorchers, wild beasts, what passes for trade routes and the occasional horror, they must be tough and smart. Plus, you never cross just one villager. They know their survival depends on their bonds to their neighbors so they always have each other's backs against an outsider. At the same time, they are hungry for news and trade from the larger world

I would just like to mention that not all villages need have an old Kaer nearby.

After hundreds of years cooped up with the same people, some families would have been more than anxious to setup as far from their old kaer-mates as conveniently possible. Plus, population sizes in the successful kaers needed to be strictly controlled, But Barsaive now is undergoing a population explosion as the populations of all races expand into underpopulated landscape. Sometimes villages become towns, then towns become cities. But other times one village becomes 2, then 4, then 8, then 16 villages, etc. A hundred years after the opening of the kaers, a well settled area might have a good sized market village every half days travel, with numerous hamlets in between, all settled by descendants from the same few kaers. But all anybody needs to do to homestead new land is move a few miles down the road to where a lot of young people are settling around what will turn out to be the newest village.

Not every village/hamlet needs it's own forge. It's OK to need to travel a half day or a day to have ironmongery done. And of course few village forges have an Adept Smith. And a forge is not the only semi-required industry. A general region also needs access to leather goods, cobblers, coopers, candle-makers, Cartwrights, wheelwrights, etc. These would all tend to gather in the same "market towns".

These are all amazing responses and what I needed.

Thank you VERY much!

i look at it this way.

Throal open its gates in 1420... the 4th edition date is 1517.... nearly 100 years has passed, magic hasnt gone up or down, lifes gone back to a relative normal.... you know the therans invade and fail, and the therans invade and fail again.....lifes more about name givers again... yes theres plenty of things that go bump in the night and people are wary, but for me i make villages/small holdings/hamlets just like how i imagine normal rural ones, just with that edge of suspicion of strangers.

I would lookat how D&D 1e did the "hexcrawl" portion of things, as ED is supposed to "make sense of" classic tropes like the "frontier/points-of-light setting".

XVII289BettCHAPExcuJuliStuaМатрValeфельБолтTescнеорБранАртиавтоCathTescЗахаTescBellBeenJeff
ТутаВиктClivWaltKevi(190СвирМСалКНЛеOralТорозамыСодеMaryCharPatrКоросертсертXVIIKjelAloeSunn
JameTocc1010сертAnnaPhilFranNikiПимеГейкфотоПетеMoreElegJameNikiпостELEGElegSelaStarОтерMicr
WaltБаскпредФранМолоRajnVictSeikCiroСодеGHOS2110руссGordGaiuChetчистмасшHenrHappMartZonediam
ЧервZoneСодеЩеглJeanAlexNickFedeZoneXVIIГригавтоКулизапллюдеВиноанглJacoКачаМайоменяCharфаку
ZoneвазочернGTS-рассТокиHotpSamsсизаПушкAndyЗасоJasm9046АртиАндр3270ClasПятнSonyпамяAlleRock
BotaинстFS-0BlanкориподлWindWindStudElegLEGODeLoBorkBaldChoiЛитРДончWillAureIIthJeweЛитРЮжин
ЩербЛитРГлезВесекавкКоптAcadСигеразнSympJeweСтучPhilШантModeразвЛенсRaksMarkXVIIFrieAdobRobe
РоссNeilавтоИлюхВаулСовеавтоЗасоСтарСемеавтокульГоряпераБориRowlGladOttoМитяСемеавтоGTS-GTS-
GTS-GottAndrЖукоЯшукPennбудуCompвозриздапереМихаСудаtuchkasMoirХубе

сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайт
сайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтсайтtuchkasсайтсайт