The third edition of Orichalcum, which took place on June 28-30, 2019 in Głuchów, was unique in many ways. First of all, FASA representatives honored us with their presence, they conducted sessions for participants and revealed some publishing secrets and plans. Multisession showed participants that even Great Dragons sometimes need help, and the whole convention was graced by a magnificent fireshow performed by the Teatr Ognia Widmo.
Coordinators
Monika ‘Auraya’ Czyżowicz
Her mother addicted her with the reading, her friends with fantasy and Earthdawn addicted her with RPG. Seemingly Obsidiman, in the depths of her heart she is a windling. Player, Game Master, organizer of the Cytadela and Twierdza conventions, judge of the Puchar Mistrza Mistrzów. In her free time, which she doesn’t have, she writes stories and blogs on https://aurayablog.wordpress.com/
Renata ‘Etopka’ Goździk
Since childhood, she is interacting with the fantasy world. Since 2015, she’s an active member of the “Topory” Association. Coordinator of the Siekieriada 2016 convention. Her adventure with RPG’s began with Warhammer, but it was Earthdawn who stole her heart and became her favorite and most often played RPG system.
Damian ‘Mordeczka’ Kowalczyk
He first met the world of EarthDawn on Orichalcum, the atmosphere that reigned here took over his heart, then he began to travel it with the best guide that is ‘AURAYA’. His reflection is TRAGMAR a great, strong and brave, though a bit stupid Troll from the Crystal Peaks. Although he is a young RPG player, he does not lack talent, and this year he debuts as a co-organizer of this great event.
Guests from FASA
Andi Watson
Andi Watson is a tabletop RPG enthusiast who has over two decades experience as a GM and as a player. She has experience with numerous systems and especially appreciates running less common ones. For the last two years she has been working for FASA Games, Inc. Currently, she is the Project Manager and on the Board of Directors. Her love of Geekdoms has led her to be active in the geek community.
Josh Harrison
Josh Harrison is a long-time fan of Earthdawn — he picked up a copy of the original core rules in 1993 and never looked back. Actively involved in the online fan community in the latter half of the 1990s, he consulted on Second Edition in the early 2000s and was a contributing editor for RedBrick Ltd’s Earthdawn Classic.
In 2013 Josh was given the opportunity to step into the role of Earthdawn Line Developer — the primary person responsible for deciding what gets made and what goes into it. Along with his creative team he began the long process of revising and writing the game’s fourth edition, and laying the groundwork for the first few supplements. He has done his best to honor the game’s 25 year legacy while incorporating lessons learned from other games since its original release.
Multisession
Queens Palace is, no doubt, the most beautiful place in Blood Wood. On the 12th of Raquas 1513 TH legations came here, alarmed by reports of the next Scourge coming. Before the Queen stood T’skrangs from House V’strimon and Syrtis, Dwarfs from Throal, envoys from Iopos and some Blood Elfs, who decided to prevent the Scourge together.
Queen was verry specific – Blood Elfs elaborate a powerful magic ritual that would stop the rapid growth of magic. For its implementation, however, people were needed, or items, strongly associated with the pattern of Barsaive. Thus, brave Adepts, dividing into four teams, went to Barsaive to get the support of Garthlik One-Eye, Omasu, Shivalahala of House T’kambras and Merrox. Each group received support from one Blood Warden.
Not everything went well. As far as Merrox wanted to cooperate, just like Shivalahala, Omasu was delivered to the Blood Wood in the chest, unconscious, and Garthlik in ties. Dwarfs from Throal even managed to take the ships of King Neden to the Forest, which almost burned down the Blood Wood, while one of the Heroes brought the Air Spirit.
Ultimately, however, the goal has been achieved. A group of the most meritorious Adepts from all teams, with support of Blood Wardens, went to the Citadel of Magic, where the ritual was to take place. Already on the spot they had an additional task – to convince the unconscious two Namegivers to cooperate, which they finally did.
Mages have prepared a ritual. Four of the legendary Heroes have been bound by it’s magic. But the Forest decided to impede the task of the Adepts. One of the Wardens died in mysterious circumstances, the second disappeared and the army of all creatures of the Forest itself rushed to the Citadel to break the ritual. One of the Adepts, therefore, called for the help of the mighty Air Spirit, but in the vortex of his materialization, at the top of the citadel, no ghost appeared but the Elven Queen herself, accompanied by Vistrosh. Alachia demanded to stop the ritual because it’s purpose was to reverse the Ritual of Thorns not to stop the Scourge. Mages hesitated. That was all the Blood Warden Takaris needed to lose his patience. He threw himself out of the tower, changing his shape in flight. The elf’s body quickly transformed into a powerful dragon, taking on red and gold colors.
Alamaise and Alachia clashed in a verbal battle but dragon had no chance to convince Adepts to continue the ritual. The risk of killing the Heroes they had promised to protect was too big. The furious dragon attacked. The dragon fired seized Queen of the elves, but, to the amazement of all present, it did not kill her, only deprived her of the thorns. Vistroshes and Alachia’s magic turned out to be stronger than the dragon’s magic. In the last, desperate reflex, Alamaise gathered all his power and, with a flame of fire, hit the Citadel with his body. Adepts felt the tower banging. They saw naked Alachia, raising a wall between them and the dragon, and their consciousness went out in a flare of dragon fire.
Brave Adepts woke up in the Palace. Healthy, equipped with new robes, and the Iopos envoy in thorns which she got when she abruptly interrupted the ritual. The heroes they brought also did not suffer. Alachia herself greeted them. Beautiful, with no thorns tearing her skin, glowing, nice, smiling. The exalting elf with a threatening glance disappeared somewhere.
And what happend with Alamaise? That wasn’t told to Adepts. They left the Forest, convinced that the dragon had killed himself by hitting the Citadel.
More than two years have passed since memorable events. At that time, there were groundbreaking changes in Barsaive. King Neden recapture Triumph from the hands of the Thera and unite the province against the Theran. The Battle of the Sky Point deprived Theran of illusions about the subordination of Barsaive, but it also brought huge losses. Neden paid with his life, so was one of the Great, Vasdenjas. Throal was plunged into a home war, until the armed annexation of Iopos at Jerris, which called the dwarfes into agreement and led Kovar of the House of Maksei to throne. Barsaive, temporarily, took a breath.
The Great Dragons were not allowed to mourn their brother for a long time. In his legacy, they found evidence that Alamaise had survived the attack on the Citadel of Magic. The mysterious object clearly indicated that Elfbane did not give up his plan to regain the Forest. So the Council of the Greats decided that Alamaise should be found and brought to order. Great Dragons gather their Drakes. The time has come when the most powerful Namegivers in Barsaive have to take matters into their paws.
Gamemasters of Multisession:
Hubert ‚Jankoś’ Jankowski
elimination session
A historian-medievalist by education, for nineteen years fascinated by fantasy and, above all, RPG’s. More often GM than the player, especially Call of Cthulhu, Monastyr and Earthdawn. Founder and president of Rawa Association “Topory”. Coordinator of the eight editions of the Toporiada convention, the promoter and judge of the contest for the best player and the best GM “Golden Axes” held at the Toporiada. He also judged in the “Golden Bones” competition and the Champions Champion Cup. He coordinated the RPG block on such conventions as Porytkon, Warkon or SkierCon. At many events, the creator of program points concerning mainly Monastyru, Earthdawn and narrative competitions. Coordinator 2017’s Orichalcum and originator, with Maciej ‘Ślimak’ Winnicki, of Multisession in ED.
Sebastian ‘Basti’ Wawrzyńczyk
elimination session
Born in 1978. He was always been interested in fantasy and scifi, in RPG since 1994. He started as a Game Master, after a year he sit on the other side of the table as player.
Since then he has played and game mastered most systems published in Polish and many English. He loves to test new mechanics and conventions, from sword & sorcery, through horror to cyberpunk and hard SF. He was one of judges in Zlote Topory, he helps in organizing convents Twierdza and Cytadela. One of administrators of biggest Polish RPG facebook group “Ladies and Gentelmen, let’s play RPG”. He has blog beastworm.wordpress.com
In Earthdawn he loves the connection between mechanics and description of the world, he considers suplements to this system as one of the best and most climatic ones, always putting them as example to follow. His favorite race is t’skrangs.
Paweł ‘Cryingorc’ Jankowski
elimination session
A naturalist by education, passionate researcher of Slavs and enthusiast of Earthdawn. He fell in love with Barsawa after the system was released on the Polish market. The extraordinary and exotic world has caused the Earthdawn to take first place on its shelf.
Bartosz Wójcik
elimination session
A mysterious guy, but these, who knows him, knows he has been playing RPG not since yesterday. He took his first steps in primary school (I mean: the time when the Internet wasn’t universal available and people didn’t use cell phones) when his classmate got „Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni” (first version, not edition, of The Witcher RPG) as a gift and they decided to test it. Although their playing had nothing to do with playing according to game rules, it was a ticket to the great hobby for young Bartek. Though he abandoned it for a while, it came back with double power during high school, when as a player he has been travelling through Barsaive and many others universums. And it still goes on, what means over 10 years of playing experience. But came the day when it had to happen – Bartek became a Game Master. A legend says his gamemaster’s job was quite qood. Would you like to experience it by yourself?
Monika ‘Auraya’ Czyżowicz
final session
Passionate Gamemaster, from the first moments in love with the Earthdawn system. Propagator of this system conducting numerous lectures and sessions at various conventions. A fantasy writer who loves working in the garden. She loves animals and the full moon. She competed in the competition for the best RPG script, Quentin and in the GameChef competition, she wrote to MiM (Magic and Sword) and judged in the Gamemaster Champions Cup. In RPG’s he has been playing for over 10 years, from 6 Gamemaster. In her free time, which she is notorious missing, she runs a blog about RPG and more.
Michał ‘Kosmit’ Kosmala
final session
Earthdawn is a system from which he started his adventure with “Named” RPG’s. He describes himself as “casually Game Master”, because … others in his team did not want to gamemastering.
During all these years, he matured as the GM and held sessions in competitions for players Gramy!, Nerd and Archipelag. He put his steps in fandom together with the Master-mind lecture group, which led to the creation of the Kosmit Paczy blog and the organization of three “Kosmitkon” microconventions. He is an ED maniac but he does not avoid other systems. He experiments with connections between the worlds of Earthdawn and Shadowrun, which resulted in his “Shadowdawn” session at last year’s Toporiada. Recently, you can meet him at the Warsaw “Champions Evening” and “Time for an adventure”.