Earthdawn: Awesomesauce, utter dross, or something between?

[Archmage Joda]

I've recently been reading up on Earthdawn 3e, but so far all I've found is the usual stream of anecdotes from rpgnet about how much fun they've had with it and such, which is all well and good, but what I would like to know is, how is the system itself in quality? It came up in searches for systems for sword and sorcery and epic fantasy, which is good, but I've also seen it compared to 4e D&D, which worries me (I do not like 4e, that is all that needs to be said in this thread).

So, as per the thread query, should I read more in-depth into Earthdawn 3rd edition, or should i just leave it be and look elsewhere to scratch my fantasy itch?

[sabs]

Earthdawn 3rd Edition is actually pretty good.

The Good:
A GREAT background.
Melee characters are cool and powerful
Tons of Magical damage mitigation.
Flexible conflict resolution
Karma for effecting rolls.
The Legend Point system
Horrors

The Medium:
The Step system with open ended dice has some weird situations.
People would rather roll 2d6 than a d12, there are a couple of steps where going 1 higher actually increases your randomization.

The Bad:
Most PCs do not have skills, they have magical talents. They're cheaper to buy, they're more easy to use, but they're limited to their class. They've improved this by giving characters Half-Circle Magic, which basically says they effectvely have skill ranks in everything that makes sense for them to have skill ranks for, at 1/2 level (where level is from 1-15)
The game gets crazy at High levels, and is not necessarily Balanced.

[Neurosis]

I really really really really dislike the die step system. It just seemed like the most needlessly counterintuitive and confusing mechanic possible, rivaling even THAC0.

That's just my opinion, though. I've never actually played Earthdawn (partially for the reason I just listed).

[Wesley Street]

It came up in searches for systems for sword and sorcery and epic fantasy, which is good, but I've also seen it compared to 4e D&D, which worries me (I do not like 4e, that is all that needs to be said in this thread).

Earthdawn is in no way like D&D 4E.

[Sir Neil]

IIRC, Earthdawn characters are all magicians or adepts in the Shadowrun sense, so you can't play a totally non-magical character. That solves one problem right off the bat.

[sabs]

Warriors are actually extremely powerful.
They move faster, they are hard to hit, they do lots of damage.
They have more hp, so can have more blood charms, which makes them more survivable.

But a Windling Archer using Flame Arrow with a Karma add on to kick your ass is still pretty impressive. And Windling Archers are fast

Air Sailors with the ability to parachute without one.
Beast Masters with Wolverine Style Claws.

[Rasumichin]

I really really really really dislike the die step system. It just seemed like the most needlessly counterintuitive and confusing mechanic possible, rivaling even THAC0.

That's just my opinion, though. I've never actually played Earthdawn (partially for the reason I just listed).

I tried playing it, but gave up mostly for the reason you listed.

[Fucks]

I love it!
The background offers countless ideas for adventures and campaigns; the classes (disciplines) are well-thought and neatly tight into the background/ setting; one gets used to the step system erly on.

[erik]

One thing that drove me nuts in Earthdawn was various spell attacks that took multiple rounds to execute. Taking 2+ rounds to do one attack drove me nuts.

There's attacks that don't require that, but as a starting player I didn't realize how much that was gonna piss me off.

[Ancient History]

The early FASA books are exceptional. It's probably the first game to give a real shot at rationally working in every D&D trope, and adventure ideas just pop out you. You can actually explore, and dungeon delve, with a purpose. Magic: A Manual of Mystic Secrets may be the best pure-magic supplement for a game I've ever run across, although it looks very old-fashioned by modern standards.

Late FASA peters out a bit in quality, mostly because the people who made the game had pretty much left and some of the books (Theran Empire sourcebook in particular) are very weak. 2nd Edition, by Living Room Games, tried to continue the storyline while Redbrick tried to flesh out the world. Of the two, RedBrick has the higher quality and greater success, but with a few minor differences, almost all ED books of any edition can be used together.

[Archmage Joda]

So, basically it sounds like the system is worth reading through and trying to grasp (I'll see about wrapping my head around the step system). I'll start reading through the player's books when schoolwork permits, but in the meantime, any helpful other tidbits to keep in mind?

[Semerkhet]

I played and GM'd a lot of Earthdawn back in '94-'97 timeframe. I loved the game. I pretty much echo AH's sentiments in regard to the richness of the setting. I was given the 3rd edition GM guide for Xmas and it seems as though the Step system was rationalized a little bit, getting rid of d4s and d20s. As was noted earlier, you can still get wonky results with the open-ended thing but that never killed it for me.

I really like the magic item system in Earthdawn. The idea of a single item maturing and increasing in power as a character researches it and unlocks new powers is great.

I'm considering picking up the rest of the 3rd ed. books but I can't imagine when we'll have time to play it.