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* Mailbag! We asked, you delivered! * Email from Elie: Alternative mechanics to play in Barsaive? * Cortex -- https://www.cortexrpg.com/ * Earthdawn: Age of Legend -- https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/176986/earthdawn-the-age-of-legend-english * Earthdawn: Savage Worlds -- https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/100174/earthdawn-player-s-guide-savage-worlds-edition * Also discussed: Cypher, Genesys * Problems with Horror marks as a concept (from player perspective) * Other active Earthdawn podcasts? * Email from Maggie: Changes to the Mad Passions' temples or shrines when they went mad? * Symbols and iconography of the Mad Passions from before the Scourge? * Email from Scott: Follow up to Mailbag 268 about Beast Spirits * Another Email from Maggie: T'skrang and Obsidimen as trans metaphors * Email from Simon: Many questions about the Gate Hound magic drain power * Range of chakta birds' Mental Assault power? * Range of the crakbill's paralyzing breath? * Is there a maximum Circle (0-thread) spell that a manticore can learn? * Constrict and Grab & Bite maneuvers for the porcupine snake and troll snake? * Engulf power from an air elemental? * Descriptions of true element kernels? * Awareness vs Perception (and limits of Awareness)? * Spending Karma on secret tests (especially Awareness)? Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Blades in Depth: A Traitor's Fate * Interlude: Lighting the Way * Visit Questor of Mynbruje * Darkness and paranoia start to intrude on the campaign * Questor communes with the Passion to find location * Provides a magical "compass" to point to the traitor's tomb * Main adventure written by Teeuwynn Woodruff * Travel to Liaj Jungle * Encounter with Lightning Lizards * Encounter Tamers * Background on the Tamers * Tamers don't want the group in the jungle * The curse affects the Tamers * Potential tweaks to the Tamers' motivations * Handling the curse appropriately; escalation * Arriving at the crypt * Kragen Overtall: The Dark Fetch * Dealing with Overtall and learning the Name * Loose ends and follow-ups * Linear, self-contained adventure Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Year End 2025 * Spotify for Podcasters Wrapped * Numbers breakdown: Followers, listening time, etc. * Analytics * Thanks and looking back * Mailbag! * Email from Frank: Kind words and thanks * Email from Jesse: Beast spirit questions * Invertebrate beast spirits (e.g. octopus)? * Edge cases, writing inconsistencies and oversights * Where to draw the line on categories? * Happy New Year! See you in 2026! Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Vivane Province: Travel and Encounters * We're wrapping up our sixth year! * Great Roads: Heavily traveled * Some elemental earth built into them to help ease travel * Real world parallel: Roman roads * Vivane is (overall) more developed than Barsaive * Real world parallel: Pioneer-era United States West vs East * River travel * Vivane t'skrang compared to the Serpent River aropagoi * Musing on Riverboats and t'skrang culture * Piracy * Theran military patrols; where and how often * Reasons for military encounters * Typical patrol composition * Non-military members: Kedate and Praetori * Coaching hostelries * Earthdawn equivalent of a "truck stop" * "Not Tolkien" sidebar * What you can find at a hostelry * Outlying areas around the cities * Reactions to adepts walking around armed * Thoughts on updates for Fourth Edition * Highlighting differences between Vivane and Barsaive Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Blades: Grave Wisdom * Interlude: In Search of Knowledge * Timeline and time limit discussion * No specific location; just in a library * Connected NPC: Vanyk Auldsinger * Like the previous interlude: Points the PCs in the direction of the answer. * The Adventure: Travel to Cara Fahd to find the Hold of Courage * Suggested travel encounters. * How post-Krathis Gron Cara Fahd can change things * Finding the Hold of Courage * Entering the Hold * Problems with the "rules" of entering the Hold * Statues and Soul Stones * Description of other aspects of the Hold * Attack by corrupted spirits * Answering the question * Destruction of the Hold * Capsule review: Straightforward location-based encounter * Possible tweaks and expansions Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* We're back! * Post-hiatus update on Josh's latest theatrical production * Legends of Barsaive chapter 13 should be released soon! * FreedoniaCon: February 28-March 1 * Overview of Theran Provinces from Vivane boxed set * Great Thera: Island in the Selestrean Sea (aka the Mediterranean) * Present-day Santorini/Thira * Creana: South of Great Thera; city states along river and up along eastern coast of the Selestran Sea * Inspired by ancient Egypt; desert, ancient tombs * The groundwork for the Theran Empire sourcebook was laid in this supplement. * Indrisa: Far to the east/southeast of Great Thera * Indian sub-continent * Brief descriptions of orks and trolls feels like Barsaive rehash * Marac: West/southwest of Great Thera * Inspired by Arabian Nights and similar materials * Talea: Due west of Great Thera * Italian peninsula; fell to Thera due to internal squabbles * Multiple city-states * Vasgothia: Northwest of Great Thera * Dense, haunted forests and forbidding mountains * Inspired by Roman interactions with Germanic tribes, Black Forest, etc. * Other areas * Araucania: Amazon Basin * Aznan: Sub-Saharan Africa Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* We're still getting new listeners! * Sidebar about "jumping into the middle" * Continued sidebar about James Gunn's Superman * Mailbag! * Email from Eli: Ideas and inspiration for seaborne adventures? * Sidebar about campaign theme: Scavenger Hunt * Email from Scott: Recommended reading order for Earthdawn novels? * Email from Tim: Highland trolls outside Twilight Peaks? * Forgot to mention trolls from Kaer Otosk in southeast Barsaive * Email from Magic Octopus: Authors of Blades? * Our experience with running any of the adventures? * Another Email from Scott: More about Blades * Timing of learning about the curse? * What if they decide to discard the titular Blades because they're cursed? * Email from Patrick: Why weave a thread to the cursed Blades? * Sidebar about Josh's love of putting PCs he is playing in difficult situations. * Email from Robert: Callback to episode 51 and making game "less corny" * Attribute values and whether they make an actual difference in play. * Different ways to offer options and make mechanical choices "matter" in RPGs. * Some game design philosophy and examining assumptions Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Blades in Depth: Bond Breaker * Lou P. responds to previous Blades episode * Origin of the interludes. * Concerns among the writers about the curse. * Short adventure * Written by Robin Laws * Interlude One: Secret of the Runes * Open-ended, lays groundwork to kick the story into motion. * Clearly provides what they need to learn and how they can learn it. * Good use of higher skill test results for additional detail/insight. * Handy NPC to provide key info if necessary. * Designed for Journeyman-tier characters. * Goal: To find Gnanagh to get key information. * Discussion of notable NPCs and their stats. * Copper Cauldron and the Wedding Feast * Early focus on role-playing and interacting with the orks * First meeting with Gnanagh and activating the curse. * The assassination attempt on Moschtug and its aftermath. * Pursuing the Righteous Vipers and Gnanagh. * The fortress and navigating the conflict. * Learning the Key Knowledge... and the curse. * Open-ended resolution, classic Robin Laws structure. * Solid adventure, but not an introduction to Earthdawn. Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Sky Point and Vivane Boxed Set * Josh and Dan's experience (or lack thereof) with the set * FASA's history with boxed sets * Overview of the box's contents * Publication history context * Not capturing attention or focus * Barsaive vs Vivane as a region * Dan's misconceptions * Sidebar about Earthdawn art * Vivane "province"? * Writers for the set * Overview of locations * Smaller geographical area but still much open area for GMs to develop * Perspective on Cara Fahd in the set * Cara Fahd and Theran slavery * Connection to Blades collection * Hildingrist Crest and magical weirdness * Perspective on Landis Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Introduction to Blades * Fantastic adventure collection. * Example of building story arcs around thread items. * Strongly aligned with Cara Fahd. * Using the items will make the game about the ork nation. * Book structure: Five adventures, each related to one Key Knowledge. * The Blades' curse and potential pitfalls. * While a good template, you don't need to go to this extent with all thread items in your game. * One line summaries of the different adventures. * Interludes to introduce how the characters learn the first part of each Key Knowledge. * History of the Blades of Cara Fahd. * Finding the Blades and Shattered Pattern. * The Powers of the Blades and number of player characters. * Deeds and Legend Points. * GM preparation before running the adventures. * Item History is helpful, but not required. * Non-orks and ties to the new Cara Fahd. * The introductory chapter to the book has good advice on potential player issues. Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Mailbag! * GenCon recap * Email from Chris: Space travelers using magic to travel to Earth? * Email from Patrick: Alachia, Immortal Elves, and the Books of Harrow * Email from Konrad: Plans to rework other old adventures for Fourth Edition? * Email from Matt: Many questions about the Passions? * Email from Brandon: Any information about old dwarf Kingdoms mentioned in Throal Sourcebook? * Expanding on undeveloped areas like Landis, Ustrecht, Scavia, etc? * Sourcebooks on other parts of the world? * Any information on the Slithering Wastes? Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Notable Places Within Cara Fahd * Quick recap of Kickstarter * Ancient Cara Fahd * Citadel of Tirthon * The Hold of Courage * The t'skrang of Kelpoya * The Black Quarry * Lelisthala - Former elf and troll slaves Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Deeper Secrets: Third and Fourth Circle Nethermancer Spells * Third Circle Spells * Animate Spirit Object * Astral Whisper * Bone Dance * Pattern Spike * Spirit Double * Discussion and preferences * Fourth Circle Spells * Aspect of the Shadow Hunter * Blood Servitor * Fatal Food * Forget Hunger * Spirit Servant * Summon Shadow Hunter * Discussion and preferences Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Mailbag! * Not sure what is up with the audio this episode. * Dance with the Serpent Kickstarter just wrapped * Plugs for Novel Games and Shadows in the Smoke * Email from Matt P: Questions about the Books of Harrow * Email from Phillip: How did wild animals and other creatures survive the Scourge? * Email from Matt M: Help me understand Friend or Foe? * Email from Nicholas: Which adventure would you run to feature Earthdawn to new players? * Blades is awesome, but not the right choice. * Post-Closing: Trailer for Shadows in the Smoke Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW

* Current Earthdawn Kickstarter runs through July 8! * Deeper Secrets: Circle 3 & 4 Illusionist * Third Circle Spells * Conceal Tracks * False Floor * Hidden Weapons * Papers, Please * Time Flies * Discussion and preferences * Fourth Circle Spells * Blazing Fists of Rage * Drunken Stagger * False Enchantment * Friend or Foe * Puppet Show * Secret Door * True Blazing Fists of Rage * Discussion and preferences Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EDSGPodcast Find and follow Josh: https://linktr.ee/LoreMerchant Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc Official Earthdawn Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialearthdawn FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW