These two have been described as using a very athletic sword play style. I was wondering if this has ever been further developed(like a name of a martial art or anything of that nature?) I would like to know because I believe it would be cool to figure out this type of thing.

Yep.

"Blade singer" style.



-Siege

Oh come on couldn't Shadowrun have been any more original, I think that is used in every friggin fantasy style game for freaken elves. Ohhhh, Dumps ice on him ohhh look a got shocked by a dump of ice. Okay that was corny, I tried though. I was also very pissed off and that cooled me just a little.

that's not shadowrun, that's earthdawn.

For some of use the only difference is that they talk about a different age of earth. Besides that well ooc different rules govern them.

Actually, it was a d20 reference -- the secret, mystical sword-fighting technique learnable only by elves, etc. etc. etc.

So far as I know, they haven't given stats to any of the IEs so you're welcome to make up some ancient, arcane secret in the finest traditions of cookie-cutter fantasy.

-Siege

Or it could be 2 fighters using hundreds of years of experience with swordplay?

ah. i assumed that ED (like jsut about every other game system) had a 'bladesinger' somethingorother.

Just like some other martial arts in the CC, could you not extrapolate a sword specialisation of Carromeleg (or the Caramel Egg, as we like to call it)?

Interesting idea, having a deriviative of carromeleg. And enough cracks about the elves if it weren't for some of the immortal beings we would be very dead today, so just remember that.

Both Harlekin and Ehran are Sword-Masters ("Schwertmeister" in german), which is "fighting with style" instead of "fighting to win at all costs" (which would be a "fighter"). But this still doesn't explain, what style they use, because Sword-Master is just a class, like fighter, so there surely is more than one Fighting Style for Sword-Masters.
I would say: The style is a) old, b) elven, c) hard to learn, d) impossible to get as a player character - esp. because it also seems to feature some kind of "magical duel" between the fighters.
The idea, that it's related to the elven hand-to-hand style seems logical to me, but surely it won't be more than barely recognizable for anyone who know carromeleg ("Hey, this move just looked a little bit like..."), because both Harlekin and Ehran have thousands of years of practice and reached a level which was fairly rare, even in Earthdawn times.

Ehran and Harlequin's sword style is more than just a "style" or "class," they are followers of the Swordmaster discipline, which is pretty different from the Bladesinger character class from D&D. ED disciplines are adept paths, similar to the somatic way in SR, except with a structured set of powers. Their style wouldn't be "elven" per se...their discipline powers (called talents in ED) would be the same regardless of whether they were human, troll or ork. However, only elves and dragons (unless you have other immortals in your game besides elves) would be in a position to remember their ED talents, so it may elven now by default. If you have a character that is an adept, it shouldn't be that difficult to translate some of the Swordmaster discipline powers into SR adept powers. A Swordmaster is more a swashbuckler, Dread Pirate Roberts/Captain Jack Sparrow type fighter who uses a quick sword and quick wit. Most of their talents are geared toward swinging or tumbling around using insults and banter to get the target to lower its defense and/or make mistakes out of anger.

For example, I believe that Dunkelzahn was in the beginning stages of teaching Ryan Mercury the ED Thief discipline in the beginning of the Dragonheart series. If you want to bring it over, that could be one easy way to do it.

I --SO-- need to invest in a copy of Earthdawn... I really wish I understood all this ED mumbo-jumbo you guys talk over here in the boring old "plain shadowrun" threads...

Ah, pity he who knows only D&D as a fantasy setting...

I blame my dad, really...

Hey, Earthdawn and Shadowrun have been linked since Earthdawn was being written. They started dropping hints about the connection before ED even went to press I believe. Then of course there's the Invae, but I think they were added in to ED to retroactively fit in with Shadowrun...

The Abstruse One

I think you'll find an investment in ED books well worth your time. Once you get used to the system, which is different from SR, ED is a very good game. I'm very happy that someone kept it going after FASA ditched it. The world is much deeper that anything I've ever played in D&D, with maybe a Forgotten Realms campaign I played one time. You can find most of the books in the bargain bin at your local gaming store or at online stores like stiggybaby.com or even ebay. You'll be glad you did.

Maybe I should work out some of endorsement deal with Living Room games.

Abstruse:

SCLariat:

Invae = bug spirits. They were one of the signs of the coming of the Scourge, a time when monsters from a metaplane invade the "real" world wreaking death and destruction on a global scale. The only defense humanity had in times past was to cower in protective citadels called kaers. ED is set in the years following the reemergence of metahumanity following the last Scourge approximately 5000 years ago. Trust me...pick up a copy of ED and read. You'll understand a lot of SR (the Awakening. UGE, goblinization, SURGE, etc.) in no time flat.

Like this?

I don't agree with SCLariat. Both Harlekin and Ehran are Swordmasters, but not all Swordmasters fight with the same style. For example, think of fighting today: Even if someone knows the same "basics" (strike, parry, dodge, etc.) the details may vary, depending on the style. Same thing with Swordmasters: They have a similar "idea" of fighting ("Style is important!"), but the details can vary extremly.

I suppose I should interject -- I was being highly sarcastic when I made my d20 reference.

The EarthDawn experts may wish to correct me, but insofar as I know there was never a detailed explanation or list of martial arts styles, armed or unarmed in ED.

With that in mind, unless it becomes critically important for a PC to know, call it the "I know it but you never will" style of sword mastery. Not that most PCs will ever associate with either of the IEs in question long enough to field questions on the subject.

Take some inspiration from Robert Jordan's fanciful naming conventions to tag a name to it if you like. "Prancing Fairy" sword style does have a certain ring to it.

-Siege

Not to mention that the shape, length and weight of the blade you're using alone dictate a good part of your "style". At least if you're a fighter with a brain. Actually, it was more the other way round, type of blade built changed as techniques evolved. But in the end, fighting with a katana, a crusader's sword or a dueling rapier would look very different. And then you have also to consider what kind of techniques the opponent is using...

Siege is correct. ED doesn't make a distinction between a swordmaster that wields a rapier versus one that wields a claymore. I'll grant there is a distinction between a swordmasters wielding katanas, rapiers, claymores, etc., but I don't think there would be a difference in the powers demonstrated by these swordmasters. Fundamentally, an elven swordmaster wielding a rapier is, in terms of game mechanics, no different from a troll swordmaster wielding a great sword. The look of the blocks, swings, etc. would be different, but they would using the same powers.

Its like difference between a Lincoln Navigator and a Ford Expedition. Different symbol on the hood, different accessories, etc. but they're identical trucks made on the same assembly line.

Sorry, I didn't mean my post to sound rude...I didn't think it DID sound rude until I re-read it just now.

But Earthdawn is a really interesting game system and definately worth a peek if nothing else to understand all the stuff going on in Shadowrun. I'm waiting for PC Windling characters

The Abstruse One

I'm hanging out for a T'krang Blademaster with the relevant cyberware. The sooner we get Smartlinks for Blades (bladelinks?) the better........
of course, I have NO ide how they would work

Both Har'lea'quinn and Eh'her'an were taught the Discipline of the Swordmaster by the same teacher. The magical portion of their duel, however, goes beyond any current sorcerous contest, so I would classify their style as unquantifiable.

If you insist on it, however, just give the double-digit Edged Weapons stats with a lot of maneuvers, possibly backed up by Adept abilities.

I think the obvious next stage of the SURGE would be for people to express in the remaining races as the mana level surges. These remaining races, for those that don't sling ED lingo, are t'skrang (smallish humanoid Pterodactyls), obsidiman (near troll sized humanoids made of living rock), and windlings (tiny fairies that can fly). Windlings have already made an appearance in the Paranormal Animals of Europe as "sprites." Some of the more exotic races from the Theran sourcebook can be explained via the SURGE changelings. If you really want to make it interesting in your game, have another wave of expression.

DotSW contains a possibel Sprite Decker, so keep your hopes up...

Obsidimen were odd, somewhere between elemental earth, metahuman flesh, metahuman spirits and elemental earth spirits.

Jackalmen could easily make a comeback, especially in Egypt.

Ulk-men I think would elicit a great deal of hatred, IF they came back.

If Leafers come back, I will personally defoliate every one.

Jubruq won't return until the Jinari do...which begs the question of what Jinarimaker is up to.

T'skrang, of course, may already be back in some areas, such as the Indian Ocean, certain subterranean caverns in the Ukraine, etc. I highly doubt the return of the flying t'skrang, however.