* The Western Kingdoms * A little bit of background of the Elven Nations book. * The placement of the Western Kingdoms and relation to Sereatha. * Overview of the western kingdom's political structure. * Individual domains each ruled by a ranelle, called a gerryth. * Collectively called the Gwydenro, or "heartland". * The founding ranelles of the western kingdoms. * The legend of Sereatha's founding. * Ancient past, relationship to Wyrm Wood. * Tales developed to justify the way...

* Mailbag episode! * Lou provided some insight into other pieces written by Sam Witt * Aleyn sent us a bunch of adventure journals! * We talk about character journals back in the day. * Email from Brendan: Penalties for sleeping in armor? * Josh suggests: Reducing recovery tests by the Initiative Penalty. * How long to put on armor? Related somehow to Physical Armor rating? * Email from Kenneth: House rules for thread weaving/spell casting. * Spell casting "cantrip" knacks and extra...

* Parlainth Adventures: Threads * Return to form; facing a Horror threat. * Higher challenge. * Roots lie in Parlainth's history and is now threatening Haven. * Does not require as much established NPC relationships as earlier adventures. * Can benefit from some foreshadowing and build-up. * Hired to investigate escalting violence in Haven. * Fairly linear, can run into "mystery adventure" problems. * Some guidance into how the adepts can notice weird magic. * Not so much about the...

* Shosara: Navolok Ranelle * Foil or rival to the Laryskova. * Focused on helping adopt non-elven ideas. * Not concerned with the opinion of the Elven Court. * Internal dynamic of the "liberal" elven nation. * Enough information to inform, not too much to overwhelm. * More willing to share titles and promote non-elves. * Remained behind after the Separation where the Laryskova left. * Forging identity as Shosarans. * Name is a human word; declaring independence from the Court. * Did...

* Parlainth Adventures: Desire Box * Lighthearted adventure; Josh thinks it's "a hoot" * Potential farce, funniest of the Parlainth Adventures. * Most easily transported to another location. * Slow build to a frenetic conclusion. * Premise: Politics, Archiana Smoothskin, and Torgak. * The Desire Box: Chorrolis-infused artifact from the ruins. * For best effect, requires relationships in Haven. * Planning and forethought on the GM's part. * Not much GM guidance on the conclusion. *...

* Shosara: The Laryskova Ranelle * Kickstarter for the next expansion for Aetherstream is live! * The ranelle inspired by Jaspree to travel north, founding Shosara. * Shosara might not exist if not for the pilgrimage. * Largest single political power in Shosara. * Prefer trade and diplomacy over military force. * Ranelle's main objective is to move the seat of the court to Shosara. * History of the Laryskova and the Court in Wyrm Wood. * The ranelle tends to act more quickly than...

* The Capital City of Shosara * Shosara's approach to traditional elven philosophy. * Overview of the city layout. * Great Lighthouse - North end of the bay. * Seat of magical study and scholariship. * Symbol of knowledge as light and guidance. * Berths for airships. * Grand Arsenal - South end of the bay. * Keep, smithies, armory. * Base for the Free Companies * Dockside - Along the shore between the Lighthouse and Arsenal. * Busy district with inns, shops, residences. * Large...

* Diving into the mailbag! * Panels from FreedoniaCon 2024 are available on the FASA Games YouTube channel * Email from Rob: Update on actual play podcasts. * Declaration phase at start of each round. * Bringing on other GMs to answer questions? * Email from Leamon: Kaer breached and survived? * Battle Shout: Increased DN based on target, or the talent user? * Non-adept humans and Versatility? Learn skills more easily? * Story time! Character death and consequences. * Josh sidebars...

* Parlainth Adventures: Dead Man's Hand * Written by Robin Laws * Features Twiceborn, Queen of the Cadaver Folk * More darkly whimsical. * Early Tim Burton, Addams Family * Works best with the characters having a previously established relationship with an NPC. * Agreement between Torgak and Twiceborn * Inciting Event: The Carnival of the Dead. * Stuff to see and do at the Carnival. * Friendly NPC loses a wager and gets taken down to the Catacombs. * Different approaches to rescue...

* Parlainth Adventures: Blood Pact * Dan figured out why he thought there was a well! * Overall theme: Vulnerability of youth and the responsibility to protect the weak. * Child gets poisoned by Mindtrap's blood on the map wall. * Josh explains the set-up; what came before. * Avenues of investigation. * Portraying those mentally broken by Horrors. * The infection spreads. * Hunting the Horror. * Mindtrap's game statistics and challenge. * Alernate approaches and things to keep in...

This special episode is the video of Episode 209, recorded at FreedoniaCon 2024. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edsg-podcast/message

* EDSG Live at FreedoniaCon 2024! * Josh summarizes the convention so far. * Email from Patrick: Our ending to Infected! * Email from Matthew: Thread items allowing the user to cast a specific spell? * Email from Patrick: Favorite easter egg or plot detail? * Email from K Scott: Glowing eyes in description of Astral Targeting spell? * Email from Konrad: Thanks for the show. * What do you do when a skill the character knows becomes a talent? * Conventions in the UK? * Email from...

* Shosara: Elves of the North * Reminder: FreedoniaCon Feb 16-18 on the FASA Games Discord! * Live EDSG on the 18th! * Shosara is on a peninsula extending into the Gwyn Sea. * Shosara's citadel was not breached. * Founded by elves who set out from Wyrm Wood following a vision from Jaspree. * Real world parallel geography. * Early history of the Shosaran elves, meeting the Khistovans. * Partnership and cultural blending, shared ship designs. * Separation from the Elven Court. *...

* Infected! Spoilers for the adventure in this episode! * FreedoniaCon February 16-18 on the FASA Games Discord * Written by the legendary Robin Laws * Probably Josh's favorite published adventure. * Let's talk about the cover! * General gushes about art from old school FASA * Dramatic, evocative cover. * Open ended resolution. * Plays on expectations and twists them. * Plot background and summary. * How the PCs are introduced. * On the Road to Hanto * Shantaya's Sextant *...

* The Talshara Ranelle * Reminder: FreedoniaCon Feb 16-18 on the FASA Games Discord! * Talshara comprises most of the militia and exolashers in the Blood Wood * Nearly every combat Discipline is represented in the ranelle. * Likely includes a significant number of Woodsman followers * (Check out Episode 78 for the Woodsman Episode.) * Current leader: Erithander, strongly loyal, can be blunt with the queen. * Founded during the reign of queen Failla * Queen Liara brought on members of...

* Adventure breakdown: Terror in the Skies * SPOILERS! * FreedoniaCon is February 16-18 on the FASA Games Discord * Live Survival Guide on Sunday the 18th. * Second adventure published. * Like Mists of Betrayal, likely written to feature different aspects of the game. * Still potential balance issues, but not as severely as Mists. * Sidebar about adventures not strictly speaking a series, despite easter eggs. * Written by Shane Lacy Hensley. * High concept of the adventure. * "You...

* The Jae'Helastri Ranelle * Politically inclined gossip-mongers * Most likely to pass information to manipulate events. * May be envoys outside the wood. * Keep an eye on other ranelles. * No farming, trade, or other aspects of life. * Smallest ranelle, no more ancestral lands or lesser ranelles sworn to them. * The ranelle that "knows things". * Came to power through unswerving loyalty to Alachia. * Founder became the go-between the consortis and blood warders. * Willing to share...

* New Year, New mailbag! * The full, unedited interview with Lou is available on our YouTube channel. * The pre-art draft for Grand Bazaar has been made available to backers. * Email from Bart: Dispelling or disrupting threads? * Email from Chris: Crossbows! Why Strength? * Why not more kinds of crossbows? * Convention news! * Email from Brendan: Twisted ideals for the non-mad Passions? * Email from Shady Dragon: Teamwork knacks? * Email from Brendan: What about the Grim...

* The Third and Final Part of our conversation with Lou Prosperi * Lou's Favorites * Why Ukraine * One More Thing for Earthdawn * Enduring Nature and Cliffhangers * Is Lou a Passion * Tales From Lou's Table * Working With Greg Gorden * Working on Different Systems * Something from Fourth Edition You Like * An Area You Wanted to Cover * If You Could Change Anything * What Would You Like to Revisit Now * Grand Storyline * Differetiation From Other Fantasy Games * Magic System...

* The second part of our conversation with Lou Prosperi. * T'skrang as alien race? * What's the deal with the ash blowing in from the Wastes? * Sidebar about the "Western Kingdoms" * Questions about loci and their use in original plans for Barsaive at War. * World maps? * Thoughts about the return of the Earthdawn and other parts of the world. * Magic use in lands outside the Theran Empire. * Portals to the elemental planes. * Back to the illusion of a fully-developed plan. * Cover...

* Episode 200! Part one of our conversation with Lou Prosperi. * How does Lou pronounce certain Earthdawn names? * What were the plans for continuing coordination with Shadowrun? * Some discussion about crossover characters. * Story about Lou sending his SR players into the past before Earthdawn * Lou's path to Earthdawn. * How did they go about building the setting? * Were there secrets that weren't revealed? * A story about a supplement that never was to provide context. * "As much...

* Wrapping up 2023 with some listener statistics and analytics * We broke 100k total listens this year according to our host. * Where our listeners hail from and what platform they listen on. * Most listened to overall episodes. * Our Spotify Wrapped summary... new listeners and audience growth. * Listen Notes score and commentary. * YouTube stats (all our backlog is now on the channel) * What does the future hold? * Adventure analysis: Mists of Betrayal * First official adventure......

* Mailbag! * Email from Jonathan: Would Blood Warders or Exolashers have been a path? * Email from Alexandre: Social Defense needs and protections for a Gauntlet? * Discussion of Resist Taunt, Lion Heart, Lion Spirit, and other options. * Email from Leamon: Ways to track Legend Point awards. * Spreadsheets! * Email from Brendan: Are Karma and Legend Points diegetic? * What about talent ranks? * Episode with Lou Prosperi coming up in a couple weeks! Find and Follow: Email:...

* Great Ranelles of the Blood Wood: The Escalanas * Quick update on social media and the like. * Kindness from a fan on the FASA Games Discord. * Tradtionally provides the most Warders to the Rose Throne. * Current head Kethos was one of the main architect of the Ritual of Thorns. * The "magic" ranelle, but like other ranelles they do other stuff. * Based in the western regions of the Wood. * Traces their origins back to the Western Kingdoms. * Established the Queen's Warders under...