Welcome To The Earthdawn(R) CD-ROM! Table of Contents 1. About This CD-ROM 2. CD-ROM Contents 3. Roleplaying: Just What Are We Talking About? 4. Installation Instructions 1. About This CD-ROM This CD is designed to gradually introduce you to the basics of roleplaying, and to the world of Earthdawn, FASA Corporation's fantasy roleplaying game. This disk contains: ¥ An overview of the Earthdawn world ¥ An introduction to roleplaying games ¥ An introductory adventure with quick-start Earthdawn rules to help get you into the action easily ¥ An electronic version of the Earthdawn rulebook. Once you've played the introductory adventure, you can move on to the full Earthdawn rulebook! ¥ Tools for playing Earthdawn online! Have access to the World Wide Web? Have online friends in another city? No problem. We've included a way to play Earthdawn over the web via WebRPG! ¥ An electronic Earthdawn catalog and mail order form. ¥ An Earthdawn Character Generator program (DOS/Win95 only). This disks includes both Rich-Text Format (RTF) and TEXT versions of the User's Manual. THE WORLD OF EARTHDAWN Thousands of years ago there existed an age of magic and high adventure, the age of Earthdawn. The power of magic flowed freely through the world, and people could draw on magic to perform both wondrous feats and everyday tasks. But the dawn of magic also brought Horrors to earth, creatures from the depths of astral space that devoured all life in their paths. For four centuries, the people of earth hid from the Horrors in underground shelters known as kaers, while the Horrors devastated their land. This time came to be called the Scourge. Now, the people of Barsaive have re-emerged from their sealed kaers and citadels to reclaim their world from the remaining Horrors and the oppressive Theran Empire, whose tyrannical reign once enslaved them. From all across Barsaive, bold heroes arise to explore their world. Swashbuckling, lizard-like t'skrang join with living-stone obsidimen, tiny, winged windlings, orks, trolls, dwarfs and humans to search for magical treasure and slay the Horrors that still exist. Magicians spin the magical energies of the universe into powerful spells, and adepts use the magic to enhance their natural talents. Armed with magic, courage, skill and daring, Barsaive's heroes strive to heal the world of the scars left by the Scourge and to build their own legends. WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING? New to roleplaying games? Look below for a brief introduction to the basics of roleplaying games. 2. CD-ROM Contents LEARN TO PLAY EARTHDAWN Here's everything you need to learn to play Earthdawn! You get quick-start rules designed to ease you into the game, a complete adventure and four pre-generated characters. We even include guidance for first-time gamemasters and players. So dive on in and give the world of Earthdawn a try! Go to: EDFLYERS/EDFLYER1/index.html EARTHDAWN RULEBOOK This disk also contains the Earthdawn rulebook. This electronic rulebook contains all the text from the Earthdawn rulebook, along with a gallery of color artwork, and a Search utility to help you find what you're looking for! Go to: EDRules/index.html PLAY EARTHDAWN ONLINE (WebRPG SOFTWARE) Now that you've learned the game, you can play Earthdawn for FREE online over the web via WebRPG! We've included everything you need to know to play Earthdawn online! Go to: WebRPG/index.html EARTHDAWN CATALOG Interested in learning more about Earthdawn products? Check out our Earthdawn catalog and mail order form! Go to: EDCatalog/index.html or EDCatalog/OrderForm.html Looking for a retailer near you that carries Earthdawn and other FASA products? Check our online retailer listing on our web site! Go to: http://www.fasa.com/RetailerLists/Statelist.html WEB LINKS For more information about Earthdawn and FASA Corporation's other games, visit our web site! Go to: http://www.fasa.com. For more information about WebRPG, visit their web site! Go to: http://www.webrpg.com! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. ROLEPLAYING: JUST WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? HERE'S A PEEK! The night is cold. You can hear the footsteps of your pursuers echoing in the darkness behind you. Ahead, you see shafts of light cutting through the mist. You've reached a street. Have you reached safety? Perhaps. Sprinting forward, you reach the light. Behind you, your enemies increase their pace as the sound of your flight reaches them. They'll be on you soon, unless you can think of something to throw them off your trail. The street seems deserted, but your practiced eyes pick out an undercover police car watching a building down the block. The cops don't notice you; they're too busy taking care of their own business. Metal crashes behind you, and you know you passed the old bed frame only moments before. Your enemy is closing in, you have to take action now. You could run into the street and try to attract the attention of the police. They could help you, but only if you can get them to believe you. Could you make them understand in time? You could keep running. The alley continues across the street and winds away again into darkness. Anything could be lying in wait out there, though. More enemies or unexpected allies. You could turn and fight. You've been running a long time now. Maybe it's time to stop running. Maybe it's time to make your stand. It's your choice. What will you do? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- You probably weren't aware of it, but you've been roleplaying all your life. It's true. If you've ever been to a movie, watched television, or read a book where the hero does one thing and you think he or she should have done something else (No! Don't open the door!), you've roleplayed. You've placed yourself in the character's position, knowing what he knows, and made a decision. That's roleplaying. A roleplaying game is simply a structured approach to that instinctive roleplaying we've all done. Roleplaying games present a story (like the plot of a movie or a book) and the characters in it (heroes and villains, even walk-ons and extras) in a controlled situation. By using the game, the players may interact with the story and influence the ending. A book or a movie has only one plotline, dictated by the script. There is only one ending. A roleplaying game also has a basic story outline, but how it ends up is completely up to the characters. Didn't like the way that last movie ended? If you were roleplaying it, you could have worked toward giving it the ending you wanted. Roleplaying makes you the hero of the story, allows you to make decisions based on the character's knowledge and personality. (Would James Bond react to a situation the same way as Sherlock Holmes?) The gamemaster is the key player in a roleplaying game, because he or she is the only person who knows the full story. The gamemaster presents the story elements to the players as they encounter them, and will tell you the outcome of any actions you attempt (such as persuading someone to do something or throwing a punch). The gamemaster adapts the story to fit your actions as your actions alter the original outline. (Think of your favorite movie or book and imagine how the story would have changed if one of the characters had done one thing different in any given situation.) Because the possibilities are infinite, the gamemaster is responsible for keeping the story flowing. Roleplaying games require cooperation between the gamemaster and the players to create a collaborative effort toward telling (and acting in) a story that is, above all else, fun. 'Cause that's really what this is all about. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some terms the game industry uses that you may not be familiar with: Basic Game This is the cornerstone product of the line. The basic game, be it boxed or in a single book, contains everything the consumer needs to play the game. Technically, only one player, the gamemaster who will be controlling the storyline, needs to purchase the game. The other players should also have a copy, however, so that they can become completely familiar with the rules. Sourcebook A sourcebook usually contains additional information about either the game universe (where the game takes place) or the game system (additional rules). Few sourcebooks are required for enjoyable play, but all enhance the game's playability, and are therefore recommended. Adventures Adventures contain story lines and plot ideas for the gamemaster to incorporate into his or her own game. Generally, they are for purchase by a group's gamemaster only, though many players will eventually purchase them simply to read. Game Aids Game aids are add-ons. They make roleplaying easier and more enjoyable by providing players with standard forms such as character record sheets. Gamemasters can use "cheat sheets" in the form of gamemaster screens, which also help to physically hide information players should not see. Novels Increasingly, novels are being used to present game universes in a format that both informs and entertains the reader. Novels can provide the nuances of a universe that are difficult to convey in sourcebooks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. CD Installation Instructions If you do not have a web browser installed on your machine, do the following: Windows 95/PC 1. Insert the Earthdawn CD into your CD drive 2. Go to the Start Menu (Windows95) and select Run 3. If you are running Windows95, type "X:\win95\msie\setup" where X is your CD drive letter 4. Click "OK" and follow the install prompts Macintosh 1. Insert the Earthdawn CD into your CD drive 2. Double-click on the CD Icon 3. Double-click on the "MAC" folder 4. Double-click on the "MSIE" folder 5. Double-click on "Installer" and follow the install prompts Once you have a browser installed, do the following: 1. Run your browser 2. Go to the "File" menu and select "Open Page" (Netscape 4.0), "Open File" (Netscape 3.0) or "Open" (Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or 4.0) 3. If you have a PC, type "X:\index.html" where X is your CD drive letter 4. If you have a Mac, select the CD drive from the file browser and select 'index.html.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earthdawn is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved. WebRPG is trademark of WebRPG, inc. Entire contents Copyright 1997 FASA Corporation