D&D 4e = Earthdawn?

[stevekenson]

It’s funny, but the more I hear about the forthcoming new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the more I’m reminded of FASA’s Earthdawn, first published a good 13-14 years ago now. (As an aside, I have no “inside” information here, I’m just speculating based on what’s publicly known. Also, are you kidding me that www.dungeonsanddragons.com doesn’t redirect to the Wizards website? Seriously, WTF?)

The brilliance of Earthdawn (IMHO) was it took many of the D&D standbys and actually provided reasons for them to exist in its setting (apart from “they’re necessary for the game”). For example, pockets of civilization hid out for over a century during a magical “Scourge” that nearly destroyed the world in fantasy bomb shelters called “kaers.” Now those abandoned kaers are all over the place often filled with, you guessed it, monsters and lost treasures.

Let’s compare some known facts:

• Saving Throws replaced with various Defense scores (so you “attack” someone’s Reflex or Will Defense). Check.
• Spellcasters rolling to-hit with their spells versus the appropriate Defense score. Check.
• Spellcasters with repeat-usage “utility” spells. Check.
• Heroes have various “sources” of kewl powerz. Check.
• “Points of light” setting style: heroes venturing into the wilds between pockets of civilization. Check.
• Uber-epic levels of play, with heroes as truly superhuman at high levels. Check.
• A reptilian player character race (ED: T’skrang, 4e: Dragonborn). Check.

I’m just waiting to hear about the “innovation” of magic items linked to their wielder’s legend, which grow in power along with them (one of my favorite Earthdawn ideas) and about the races of rock-people and faeries (like ED’s Obsidimen and Windlings), and we’re practically there.

Ah, Earthdawn, you were before your time.

Comments

[iamnikchick.livejournal.com]

Ah, Earthdawn, you were before your time.

I'm with you, man.

I haven't been paying attention to the dribs and drabs of information coming out about 4E since A) I find it much easier to absorb things all at once rather than in pieces and b) 4E design tidbits don't affect my job at all at the moment, so until/unless WotC decides to share an SRD or something else upon which I can make decisions it's just extra noise to me.

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's...interesting, when you put it like that.

I thought Earthdawn was brilliant, too. The setting had lots of potential that, alas, they never got the chance to explore.

[doccross.livejournal.com]

My oh my, that sure is a heaping helping of coincidence, isn't it? If I was whoever holds the rights to Earthdawn, I'd be trying to figure out a way to use this to my advantage.

[xomec.livejournal.com]

Well, given that FASA still holds the IP and has licensed it to not one but two other publishers, that'd be a sticky mire indeed. Still, one can't copyright game systems, so I doubt there's any sort of legal claim to be made, especially given how ED was based on D&D first (everything in this biz is circular).

[omasu.livejournal.com]

And the same observations that Steve noted in the original post haven't escaped us either. I've been keeping a close eye on 4e (like others) for some time. We are already working out ways to use this to our (more accurately, Earthdawn's) advantage.

Take kaer, James (Director, RedBrick)

[xomec.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wrote an article along the same lines for Dragon in the early days of 3e. It really is a great solution to the "disposable magic item" problem in D&D, where characters both accumulate too many items and outgrow their usefulness. Given the stated goal of making magic items less necessary in 4e, I wouldn't be surprised if something like it found its way in.

[wyldc.livejournal.com]

They turned it into a product too. See Weapons of Legacy (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/178620000).

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Pointing out similarities between 4E's design and that of any other RPG (let alone other media) is a punishable offense. Don't you read ENWorld? ;-)

[rickj.livejournal.com]

You know, I just just thinking that Parlainth would be a great setting for 4E.

[gamerguy.livejournal.com]

I've long thought that D&D is - and should be - moving to forms that other more modern RPGs have used for years. It won't surprise me if they continue to adopt things used by other games for years (it took us, what, 10 years before to get a glancing nod and sop at this new-fangled 'people have skills other than combat skills' thingamabob).

I have no inside info either, obviously, but I feel I could reasonably make a bet that if I cracked open the heads of a couple WoTC main designers and checked, I'd find the idea that 3e, 4e and probably even 5e are a planned pathway to gradually ramp up D&D to modern standards of game design while trying not to give the grognards collective heart attacks. (Me, I'd go ahead and give them heart attacks; I'd buy GR, slap a 'D&D 4E' cover on top of a slightly revised True20 and let it out into the wild).