[Cranstonvm]

I was wondering.

[Longshot23]

As far as I know - feel free to correct me, anyone, since I'm not in any info loops - Earthdawn was created after Shadowrun, and in the creation process someone back then thought it would be cool to connect the two.  Now, of course, the two RPGs have pretty much gone their separate ways.

[Malex]

Agreed. Earthdawn's print dates suggest that it came out during Shadowrun 2nd Edition.

[Stry]

My understanding it was a spin off toying with the idea of the fourth world, immortal elfs and dragons.

[Mirikon]

That's what I understood, as well. You already had Shadowrun, in the 6th World, so someone decided it'd be a good idea to do a game about the 4th World. While Earthdawn is dead now, AFAIK, the links made between that world and Shadowrun have given a great deal of depth to the universe, and definitely helps shape Shadowrun as a whole.

Personally, I am waiting for a cult dedicated to Verjigorm to show up somewhere in the world, and see what the reactions of the local dragon population are.

[Critias]

While Earthdawn is dead now, AFAIK...

Luckily, nope!

It's no longer owned by the same company as SR, mind you, so we're not going out of our way to introduce new ties left and right...but for those interested in ED as a game unto itself, and not just for the tangled web it wove with SR, it's certainly still alive (and a lot of fun in its own right).

First edition books will be the ones you want for the most Fourth/Sixth world crossover stuff (but even then it's in fluff, not crunch) -- but I think they're up to their Third edition, now, in terms of general gameplay. 

[Wakshaani]

As for planned in the beginning?

No.

Remember, Shadowrun was published in '89. The idea of a game branching out into different timeframes from LAUNCH was a foreign concept. Who knew if Shadowrun would even be usccessful?

As it took off and did well, THEN you had some people spinning things off with connections to the long longago and, eventually, when enough intrest was built up, starting the Earthdawn branch, but, it's safe to say that it wasn't planned from launch.

(Mind you, while I've *played* since '89, I wasn't part of the design crew, so, not Word  of God here or anything.)

[Cranstonvm]

As for planned in the beginning?

No.

Remember, Shadowrun was published in '89. The idea of a game branching out into different timeframes from LAUNCH was a foreign concept. Who knew if Shadowrun would even be usccessful?

As it took off and did well, THEN you had some people spinning things off with connections to the long longago and, eventually, when enough intrest was built up, starting the Earthdawn branch, but, it's safe to say that it wasn't planned from launch.

(Mind you, while I've *played* since '89, I wasn't part of the design crew, so, not Word  of God here or anything.)

Thank you. Personally I like that the games had connections it made it very interesting to play SR knowing that their was ancient ties and much more metaplot then just the from one time period.

[hobgoblin]

Remember, Shadowrun was published in '89. The idea of a game branching out into different timeframes from LAUNCH was a foreign concept. Who knew if Shadowrun would even be usccessful?

I am guessing that SR came about as someone noticed how popular the whole Cyberpunk thing was, and wanted something in that style. But they needed something to stand out and they landed of a what if about the Mayan calendar. And presto here he have the 6th world. Then later someone starts wondering about the previous cycles and we get Earthdawn (mind you, was the whole Ethan speech written before or after Earthdawn?).

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Pretty sure before.  Written for the 1E adventure 'Elven Fire', if memory serves me correctly.

[The_Gun_Nut]

The devs knew early in the process that there would be a big backstory to Shadowrun.  After it became successful, they decided to flesh out said backstory into a full fledged game.

As Critias said, Earthdawn is alive and well in its 3rd edition.  It has even spun off (or is about to, have to check the release dates) for both Pathfinder and Savage Worlds.

Check out this link for more info.

[Mara]

As Critias said, Earthdawn is alive and well in its 3rd edition.  It has even spun off (or is about to, have to check the release dates) for both Pathfinder and Savage Worlds.

Check out this link for more info.

*perks up* What was that? Pathfinder edition? COOL! *will inflict new Horrors on game group!*

[SpiderWord]

If I remember correctly ED is published currently by Mongoose.

[Mara]

If I remember correctly ED is published currently by Mongoose.

Neg..it is published by Red Brick

[The_Gun_Nut]

Aff.  You are correct.