EDSG Episode 196 - Kaers

Earthdawn Survival Guide

* Kaers

* Significance of kaers in the game and setting.

* Common (and most dangerous) destination for adventurers.

* Mists of Betrayal, Terror in the Skies, Ardanyan's Revenge.

* Not a lot of concrete examples in later published material.

* Appearances in novels and fiction.

* What is a kaer?

* Purpose to keep people inside alive.

* Why are you going and what might you find?

* Kaers vs citadels.

* Traps and defenses. Could be turned off by residents to safely emerge.

* Traps are apt to be nasty and deadly.

* Other features of entry and approach tunnels.

* The kaer as a community like surface towns and villages.

* Don't necessarily need to map every inch of the kaer.

* How the residents and conditions might shape the environment.

* A kaer is not a D&D-style dungeon of 10-foot corridors.

* Need space for people to live for generations.

* Entry tunnels should allow room for livestock and goods to be taken inside.

* Concealing the entrance as an additional layer of protection.

* Obvious kaers are likely to have already been found and explored.

* Where kaers were built and why.

* Basic Theran design. Large central chamber with offshoots for various services.

* Mosaics or other fixed decorations as a source of lore or knowledge.

* Living quarters; tiny homes, apartments, dorm suites.

* Main thing about kaer design is there likely would be no wasted space.

* Growth or expansion during the Scourge.

* Wards and protections of the kaer interior.

* Oxygen and air filtration.

* Crops and greenery; rooftop gardens.

* Resource use and waste disposal/recycling (including the dead).

* Water - wells, water spirits, connections to elemental plane.

* Animals and livestock; diet variety (or lack thereof)

* More about crops and food plants.

* Five likely states for a kaer.

* Unopened and inhabited.

* Open and empty.

* Collapsed and not used.

* Failed by Horror breach.

* Failed by other disaster (starvation, disease, collapse)

* Adventurer groups and kaers.

* How do you get in and what do you find there?

* GM should think of the story of the kaer.

* Who lived there and what happened to them?

* Cultural drift (or lack thereof).

* Sidebar about Urupa development.

* How much of a role will the kaer play?

* Exceptions to expectations and what that can do.

* Magic can solve a lot of problems!

* Returning to water source and its importance.

* What do you find inside? Treasure, artwork, lore?

* Kaer-focused game ideas.

* Other sources and inspiration.

* Civic planning and civil engineering.

* Don't put more work into your kaer design than you must!

* City of Ember

* The Expanse

* Silo

* Ultimately limited only by your imagination.

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